Neither Rain, nor Sleet, nor Neuralyzer
by Blackwolf-20
Summary: One day Agent J unexpectedly runs into his ex-partner Agent K, now a postman. J wants to violate the rules by connecting with him, if something else doesn't violate it first.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own MIB**

**Summary: One day Agent J unexpectedly runs into his ex-partner Agent K, now a postman. J wants to violate the rules by visiting with him, if something else doesn't violate it first.**

**MIB II was alright, up to the point K's memory returned. So ignoring that movie (Or taking place years before it happened), I decided to write a fic involving J working with K, though he has no memories of his time as an agent. This fic was also inspired by another fic I read in which J was watching a neutral K from a distance. **

**Who Are You?**

_Agent J's P.O.V_

It was one of those mornings. One of those "Oh, damn!" mornings where you don't wanna be getting out of bed and risking getting a Five-x Super Natronic bullet in your ass by some pissed off Andotron from the planet Andtrox. Most people don't have to worry about that, but for me, it was becoming an everyday struggle. And it wasn't always Andotrons. There were others out there. Other, non human things that normal people didn't know about. Didn't have to think about. I was one of them, but now I wasn't.

It was all part of my job now. Hey, I may be complaining, but I'd done this to myself. I agreed to be an MIB agent. But if it weren't for some old white guy stepping into my life during a confusing situation, I would still be in the dark about this world. I would still be thinking the asshole cab driver was just an asshole and not a slimy, yellow, spiky wormy thing from some crusty, dried up planet in the universe.

So, I appreciated the moments when I could just step into quiet places like Café Jo's for some hot coffee. I was never much of a coffee drinker, not like my old partner, but being that it had been raining and was still raining, I guess it set me up in the mood. Hell, I needed something to ease my feelings about an escaped Andotron. I knew Zed would be all up in my face for letting him get the slip, but it wasn't on me! It was all thanks to another lousy partner who had by now forgotten what he'd done and was now on his way to Chicago to get back in the fold of being some genius technician.

Agent B had been big on the brains, but not on the brawny which didn't have to be a bad thing. The only time it was a bad thing was when he was over thinking the situation, which was all the time. Shame to. He was a brother, and it wasn't everyday you met a black man who could run complicated mathematical figures in his head like he could. The ones I'd met in my other life ran figures too. Figures like, "I figure I can pop this joint for seven mil."

It was one of the reasons I was NYPD for a time. My need to clean up those dirty acts. But now, I was cleaning up something else, and often it was slime off my suit from an exploded alien.

I made my way through the door. The bell alerted the clerk behind the counter who owned Jo's café. I knew the man, for not being human. He was kind of chubby, but tall, and had short curly black hair that was wet with hair spray, or rather wet from perspiration.

"Hey J!"

I just nodded. It was getting harder and harder to find a place that was just run by regular people. I would have gone to a place like that, but it was starting to come down hard outside and I didn't feel like scouting out another coffee place. Guess it didn't matter. Jo was a good guy, for a Zanderic.

"Haven't seen you in a while."

We had to be careful conversing across a room full of normal citizens, so I walked on up to the counter.

"Yeah well, when an Andotron gets the best of your partner, you're in need of some hot fresh jo, know what I mean. This weather's not helping much either."

"I hear yeah. Let me get right on that. Lisa!"

Jo was one to check in on, being that he hired human workers who were mostly women. But so far, nothing had gone wrong with the guy. He was like a teddy bear, but he sure as hell didn't look like one under the human suit.

I took my coffee black and settled at a small table away from the windows and near the center of the room. I didn't want to be reminded of what was out there, but at the same time, I didn't want to be too lost among normal people. I was in the middle, alone. It was another risk I took. Being invisible, nonexistent, and I did it everyday. I'd never admit it to Zed or the MIB psychiatrist, or anyone else. None of them seemed to feel the way I felt, and I guessed it was probably better that way. Not to feel. To accept, alone-ness.

I took a sip and let the depression sink in. And that's when I heard the ring from another customer coming in. I don't know why, but I looked up to see who it was. Normally I'd just ignore it, but not today, and I was glad I didn't. The person coming in was an postal worker, but not just any damn postal worker. It was my mentor, my recruiter, the famous ex-Agent K.

_Kevin Brown's P.O.V_

On a day like today, nothing hit the spot like a hot fresh cup of black coffee with two sugars. Normally I could rely on my co-workers to fix a fresh brew of coffee, but lately it had not been to my liking. Besides that, I was on my break and with the weather pouring cats and dogs, what better place to go to than a real coffee shop.

It was easier to create some distance from my profession for a while. I wasn't complaining. It was a good job. It was my job, and I was the best at it. I understood all of the proper procedures and protocols in order to maintain an effective working environment for myself and my fellow postal workers. Of course, there were those days when I wondered if it was just an act. That something was making me invest my time in a position I didn't quite follow. Like it was all, just a lie.

I hated when those thoughts visited me, and they normally did so when I was away from the working environment. When I was off alone somewhere. The feeling invaded me more often than I liked. The last place I wanted it to invade me was in my own home where my wife could sense it. The last thing I wanted it to do was hurt her, but I knew, somehow I knew that feeling was there for a reason.

What was the reason?

It was simple. I was questioning who I was.

It was something a high school student would do as he or she started to try and make sense of their lives. I, on the other hand, was past my teenage years and heading into the golden age, as much as I didn't want to admit it. I was past the moment where I needed to know who I was. Some days I was sure, and others, I wasn't.

I just listened to the rain pouring behind me, while I stood there staring at the glass door to the coffee shop as if I knew inside would be all the answers to my questions. I'd always looked to the starry sky for them, but the universe gave zip.

I entered quietly. It wasn't crowded, but it contained enough people for me to wonder if I should intrude upon their space. Someone as lost as me had no reason to encroach on others who knew exactly who they were and what they were doing. I briefly scanned the perimeter, then proceeded up to the counter where a young, freckled faced brunette was trained to welcome my presence.

"Welcome to Café Jo's. How can I help you."

I didn't bother to return that false smile of hers. I assumed it was standard procedure for her to greet customers that way, whether she was happy to see them or not.

"Yeah, let me get a—"

"Hey Josie! I'll take care of this one."

The rotund owner stepped forward and took her place at the cash register. I remembered him even though I didn't come into this café very often. From the delighted look on his face, he remembered me.

"Mr. Brown. Haven't seen you in a while."

"Well you know how the postal services go," I answered.

"Yeah, and I also know how your slogan goes. What is that…neither rain nor sleet…nor dark of night?"

I just stared at him. "Something like that."

I really wasn't in the mood to be too friendly today.

"How you like this weather?"

"Can't say it's doing me much good. How about that coffee?"

"Oh right. One black, large. Two sugars. Nothing else?"

"No Jo, since you know me so well." I was bitter when I'd said. I hated it when I felt someone else knew me or thought that they knew me and believed they could understand what I was going through.

My focus was down on the change in my wallet, but when I looked up, Jo was giving me a concerned look. That was one of the reasons I didn't stop at his café too often. For some reason, I could feel a strange vibe coming from the man. It was almost like déjà vu, but it wasn't. There was also the odd looks he'd give me. Sometimes they showed concern, but most of the time they showed pure happiness, like I was his idol or some nonsense like that. If Jo knew something I didn't, he wasn't letting on, but I knew it was impossible. I was just an average working citizen doing my part on the delivery service, nothing more.

"I'll get that right to you."

I nodded and waited right at the counter. I was free to observe my fellow coffee drinkers. None of them seemed as lost as I was. They all knew their purpose, had their plans, was aware of some idea. Maybe I was over thinking it like I normally did. But while they were busy making sense of their lives, I was trying to make sense, not only of myself, but of my world. Whenever I got that vibe, that déjà vu vibe, I started to wonder if things were really what they seemed. I tried not to think that way. My wife hated it when I did.

I started to turn back around to read the menu, since no one in the crowd caught my eye, when I noticed one did. He was a tall, what I assumed to be a tall, black gentleman in a black suit. Someone I imagined to work at a funeral home. He was sitting near the middle of the café, alone. When my eyes caught his, he froze in his attempt to take another sip of coffee. I don't know why I continued to look at him. I didn't know him, but he was looking as if he knew me. It annoyed me so I looked away just as Jo walked up with the coffee. I handed over the amount.

"Ah, you know, you don't have to do that," he told me. That was another thing with Jo. As far as I knew, I was the only one he tried to talk into not paying. Like we were such close buddies he wanted to give me the highest discount by allowing me to have free purchases.

"Price is still $2.95, right?"

"Well yeah, but for a hard worker such as yourself, you don't have to—"

I dumped the payment on the counter. "I'm not one to break the law," I told him seriously.

A frightened look crossed his features, but in the end he nodded and took the change.

"Thank you."

I took my cup and settled into a table in a corner, where I could be further alone.

_Agent J's P.O.V_

I couldn't believe it. What were the odds? I mean, really. There was my old partner coming into the same place I was. I mean things like that just didn't happen, but since it did, I couldn't stop savoring it. Obviously Jo couldn't either. He remembered K alright, even though he was dressed like a mailman. He had once saved the Zanderic's life from a terrorist group of Khallas. He hooked him up with this job and ever since then Jo's been pretty grateful to the MIB, particularly K.

When he looked my way, I expected to hear "slick" or some kind of order. I wasn't surprised when he looked away. He didn't remember me, but that didn't stop me from watching him. I wanted him to remember, to just know me. I watched him sink into a table off in a corner. Just the way he sat there reminded him of me. Out of everybody in this place, we had to be the only two dudes looking like we did. Like the world had come to an end. Like all of humanity was gone and we was the only ones left. I could see it in his face, and I could tell he didn't understand it. And I knew I could clear that up for him in an instant, but strict protocols kept me back.

If an agent were ever to come across a neutral one, as unlikely as that was, he was to steer clear. Don't get involved with him. Don't talk to him or nothing. Right now, I wanted nothing more than to break that particular rule. I mean what were the odds of us meeting again anyways. And it wasn't like he was gonna remember me if I talked to him for a bit. It wasn't like he had a whole lot going on. I knew, because MIB kept tabs on all their old agents. I never looked into it much. I was more focused on looking forward, working to be the next best agent.

Right now he looked like he had a lot on his mind. Someone passing by him might of thought his dog had just died. He didn't drink his coffee the way he did back at the agency. He kept shooting glances at me, knowing I had my eyes on him. I looked away as fast as I could every time, but after several times of this, I knew he was more aware of me than he had been before. I couldn't take it.

"He makes good coffee don't he!" I said it pretty loud. If anyone knew I had a loud voice, it was K. But he didn't look around. A couple of other people did. K was deliberately ignoring me. "I said they make good coffee!"

More people looked my way. I was getting ready to tell them to mind they damn business, but then I saw K looking at me. That serious look was in his eyes too. A look that asked, "What the hell is this fool's problem?" I nodded to let him know I was talking to him. I even held up my cup.

"Good coffee," I said a little awkwardly.

"Yeah." He said it quickly enough. "Good coffee."

He looked away from me again. I grinned and got up. He wasn't going to brush me off that easily. If I could see past that stony exterior, I'd of seen the look of horror when I sat down right in front of him.

"Ain't no better time to get a cup of joe from jo than now, know what I mean?"

He looked at me like I was some kind of, well, alien.

"Sure."

"Guy like you is bound to keep up with all the best coffee joints, am I right?"

"Who are you?"

"Just an old friend," I told him.

"Really."

"Yep."

"I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"I think I would remember someone like you."

"Really?"

"Really."

I settled back and watched him and he watched me. He observed me like I was some irritating species. I just grinned it off.

"Well, whether you remember me or not, doesn't matter. What matters is, we're two guys, chillin, you know. Enjoying each others company."

K didn't say a thing to that. He just stared at me, like I was some kind of black ghost.

"Would you like me to call you a cab?" he asked after a while.

"What?"

He leaned forward and lowered his voice when he spoke again.

"How much did you have to drink?"

I blinked, but then I started to laugh.

"No no no, it ain't even like that. I mean I saw you, and I thought—"

"I'm married." He said it straight forward and serious.

"No. No. I mean I'm not…I mean, I know you're not. Look, let's start over. Hi, I'm J."

I extended a hand. All he did was glance at it, before looking back at me again. I knew what he was thinking, 'This fool must be crazy.'

"Okay. Look, it's just one of them days where I didn't really feel like sitting alone. And I saw you over here by yourself looking like how I feel. Come on man, what's the harm in two strangers getting together, as friends though, not the other thing."

He leaned away from me. I could hear gears turning in his head as he was trying to figure out what to make of me. At this point, I found I didn't care if he walked out on me right now. The satisfaction came from stepping past a boundary and reaching out to someone I knew was as lonely as me.

_Kevin Brown's P.O.V_

I had to agree, that it was just one of those days. A day where some nut exposed himself, and not just to the public, to one person in particular. Why did it have to be me? Was it my punishment for questioning so much about the universe? I always thoughts there was more to this planet, other than the occasional mental crowd, but apparently there wasn't. But the odd thing about it was that he acted as if he honestly knew me, and there was that feeling of déjà vu. I looked at the man. I tried to look through him. He was much too young to feel lonely. He didn't have the lines of weariness that I had. Nothing that showed he'd been around long enough to feel like he knew there was more.

I knew the best thing to do was to get up and walk away. I didn't want to be bothered anyways, but I stayed right where I was. There was something about him that, intrigued me.

"What's on your mind slick?"

I wasn't sure why I'd given him that nickname, but he appeared pleased to hear it.

"Why don't we start with what's on yours."

"You're the one who came to me, mind telling me why?" He seemed a little taken aback when I asked.

"I, just did."

I leaned back a little and tried not to let the frustration get to me. Clearly he wanted something.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a psychiatrist," I told him.

"No. I know a psychiatrist, believe me." I quirked my brow, thinking here was the proof that the man was a lunatic, but he shook his head. "No no no, I know what you're thinking, and I am not crazy."

He paused and took a sip of his coffee. I rubbed my temples while I tried to think of a way out of this. We weren't getting anywhere.

"Or maybe I am." Now I was concerned. I watched him take another sip of his coffee then look over to the window. "I'm sure you have days like that. Days where you wonder if you're crazy, or if the world's crazy. Cause sometimes it just don't make no sense."

I was intrigued against my liking.

"What are you talking about?" I couldn't help asking it.

"Out there man," He gestured to the window. I looked. Normal people were passing by. I watched for a moment, feeling lost all over again. Then I watched him watching them like he could see something about them that I couldn't. I wanted to know what that was. I was desiring it as much as I desired the woman I loved.

"And what's, out there?" I asked, certain he could hear the fear in my voice. I looked out that window, hoping to see it. When he didn't respond, I turned back to him. He almost looked smug, yet regretful.

"Something I'm not sure you can understand."

"Really."

"Yes really," he said quickly.

"Try me."

I could see him carefully thinking about it now. He was observing me much in the way I had been observing him, and any other thing or person I thought was odd. Then he shook his head and took another sip.

"Naw man. The kind of things out there, could visit you in your nightmares. And I will not be responsible for creating a disgruntled postal worker."

"You don't think I can handle it," I stated.

"No. I know you can handle it."

"How do you know that?"

"Because." He paused and stared down at the table. "Because, you're not like me." I leaned back, further intrigued by this mysterious man. "You can carry the weight of anything, and I'm not just talking about grandma's mystery packages of heavy-ass cookies to her grandkids. I'm talkin' serious stuff. I mean, a mailman has to be that strong right?"

"I don't know," I told him. "There's nothing, serious in my life."

"Really?"

"Yes really. The only thing…oh never mind."

"No come on."

"No I, shouldn't. I mean I don't even know you." I couldn't help the laugh that started to escape me at this odd predicament.

"Well pretend that you know me, now come on," he said, and he was grinning too.

"Well." I figured, what the hell. "I don't know."

He leaned back, and I could see the frustration coming to him.

"Funny thing is, you seem to be talking a lot of sense, for someone who makes no sense at all. I guess maybe that makes me, crazy." A look of concern flashed across his features, but I just kept going. "I've had days when I wondered what was going on, out there. Days when I thought, maybe, I was alone, somehow. I have my wife, and my career, but…"

"It's not enough," he filled in. I had let my eyes wander down to the table while I was speaking, but now I was looking at him. "Or, it doesn't feel real," he continued.

"Both," I admitted.

He nodded.

"Maybe I can help you with that," he offered seriously.

"I seriously doubt it."

There was a buzzing sound, and then the man reached down in his pocket and pulled out a slim silver phone of some sort. I never paid much attention to new technological advancements. I watched as he conversed with who ever was calling.

"Oh right. I'm just finishing a coffee break. No no, I'll get right on it."

He folded the thing up and put it back in his pocket.

"Looks like we'll have to cut our meeting short," he told me.

"Business."

"Yeah, but it's…nothing I can't handle."

"Hm, you must be very good at, whatever it is that you do."

At my comment, he slightly froze. It was as if he was trying to find the best way to register my comment.

"Ah, yeah. And I bet you must be very good at, what you're doing now."

"I like to think so," I admitted with a nod.

"Right." He stood, but I stayed sitting. He was unsure of how to vacate the premises after our brief conversation. He looked out the window again. "Looks like the rains' stopped."

I looked too.

"Probably won't be that way for long," I told him.  
"Which is why I should probably get my ass up out of here before it comes down again. And you, take it easy man. Maybe I'll see you around sometime."

"Yeah, maybe." I was just a little disappointed that our conversation was over.

"Same time, same place." He pointed at what had become our table.

And that was it. He walked away as if nothing had happened between us. I watched him pass through the glass door and depart down the wet sidewalk. As odd as our meeting was, I thought it was even odder that I was feeling more lonely than before. Without knowing it, the man had brought me some comfort. He had brought me some form of insight. Told me that he understood what I was going through, somehow, and that I wasn't crazy for feeling that way.

I kept watching the corner from where he disappeared outside, then took a sip of my coffee which had become cold. Part of me, well most of me was hoping it would be true. That I would see him around again, and that I would remember him. I mean I knew I wasn't so old that I would forget easily.

I looked at the counter and caught Jo giving me that concerned look, and for once I wasn't disturbed by it. I suppressed a laugh. After meeting with that odd fellow, it made sense, somehow.

**Yah! I'm glad I finished this chapter. I'm in the middle of preparing to write an or****ginal book, but with my thoughts on MIB, I decided to write another fic. I'm sure other fics will come along soon, and I wanted to be one of the first to start a trend of new MIB fanfiction. Hopefully it will start a trend and other people will be on here writing stories for it. Til then** **enjoy this fic.**

**Now, this story can be complete right here. However, I already wrote a oneshot contemplation and I decided to make this one one part contemplation and another part mini action story. So luckily for you, there's more to come. It'll be a short story, maybe 5 chapters at the most, but it will be as detailed as this one was. Hope I kept both K and J in character. I tried my hardest there.**

**Stay tuned for the next one!**

**Review! Review! Review!**

**Nothing pleases me more than a very detailed review! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**All right, here's chapter 2! I'm pleased with the way this one came out even though I planned for it to be very different. Also, I'm at least happy to get it in before Friday. Let's see how this one goes. **

**What Are You?**

_Agent J's P.O.V_

I don't know what made me go back to Café Jo's the next day, and at the same damn time too. I kept telling myself there was no way in hell K would be there again, just because I'd said "Same time, same place". I knew he probably went home thinking I was some nut who didn't deserve to be listened to, but I liked to think that I got through to him. At least it wasn't raining. It was a better day for me since the Andotron was caught. And even though it wasn't me that brought him in, it was a big weight off my shoulders.

I stepped into the café just like before. Right away I saw Jo at the counter, talking to one of his employees; one of his female, human employees. He looked around and gave me that big happy grin.

"Hey J! You becoming a regular now?"

"I'm tryin not to man. I can only imagine what some of our _other_ friends might think if they keep seeing a suit strut in here." And by _other_ friends I meant aliens. "Might be bad for business."

"Well," he paused and leaned in close to me, "There's always the humans."

Sometimes the way he said it, made me feel like he was more interested in the idea of eating somebody, rather than serving them something from the menu. But if that was the case, there'd already be five or seven bullets in his happy ass.

"What can I get you?"

"Just a tall, black."

"But, you already are."

I turned to him, not even the least bit impressed by his joke.

"Just get the coffee wise guy, and leave the sarcasm to me."

He nodded and went to get the drink while I took in the new group of customers. Some were from the previous day, but most of them were new. And as far as I was sure the bulk of them were, human. I wasn't exactly sure what that meant for me.

Before I could even start revisiting the thoughts I had the day before, the thoughts that came before K's arrival, I had that awkward feeling that someone was watching me. You know when you just know someone's burning their eyes into the back of your head. I went with that feeling and looked at the obvious place to look. And right away, I was like "I'll be damned."

Sitting at the exact same table as yesterday, was K. He was in his mail uniform with a cup of coffee sitting untouched before him, and he was staring right at me with that serious expression of his. I just kept staring back. He was looking at me as if he was pissed, while I was looking at him like I didn't have a clue what was going on. Right then I was expecting him to ask why I failed to get the goods on the Andotron.

"Here's your coffee."

I forced myself to face Jo and pull out my change.

"Oh, thanks."

"Back again huh."

I looked up from my wallet and noticed he was looking over my shoulder at his favorite agent.

"Ah, yeah."

"Hmm, whatever you said to him, must have really made an impact."

"What you talking about, I ain't said nothing." The last thing I wanted Jo to do was to spread word that I was talking to a neutral, and not just any neutral, an agent one at that. If Zed heard I was breaking that particular rule, I'd be cleaning out the bathroom stalls of the extraterrestrial department, and nothing was nastier than that.

"Ah come on J, I ain't exactly been neutralized here. I saw you and him yesterday."

"Yeah, well how would you like to see the unemployment line on your old home planet?"

Immediately he paled. The last thing he wanted to do was return to a planet that had become a breeding ground for extraterrestrial punks and gangbangers.

"Hey hey, it's cool! I won't blow your cover."

"See that you don't," I warned him. I took my coffee and glanced up at his wet hair. "Oh, and you might want to take it easy on the style. Jheri curls ain't exactly in season any more."

He ran a hand over his hair and mumbled a few curses at my better attempt at sarcasm. I took my coffee and forced myself not to look round at K. I could feel him watching me while I was walking over to the table I'd sat at yesterday. I took the same seat that faced him, but I kept my eyes glued to my own table. I didn't think I'd ever been in a situation that was as tense as this one. It all came down to who would break first. K was a stubborn dude, so I wasn't expecting him to say anything. But it was my own damn fault for starting the thing. I mean, I wasn't suppose to be talking to him anyways, but I did, and he remembered. I was like, whatever, while I picked up a paper somebody left behind and started to fake reading it. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw K still watching me. Minutes went by before anything was said.

"You're really going to pretend that you don't remember me, aren't you?"

I looked up at him, and so did a couple of other people. That serious expression of his greeted me like old times. I thought it was crazy that he said that, when it was me who should be asking that. I just grinned.

"Well, well, well, I guess I made more of an impact on you than I thought."

"I guess you have," he admitted.

I put down my paper and went to join him at his table.

"You did say same time same place," he told me.

I gave him a little nod.

"Well yeah, but, I didn't figure you'd follow the instructions of some strange black dude who started yapping in your ear for no reason."

K shook his head slightly. "No. You had a reason."

"Did I?"

"Yes you did. Besides, you're here again."

I shrugged. "I like the coffee."

"That's not the only reason," he argued.

"Oh? And what's the other reason?"

"Our conversation was cut short."

I took a sip of my coffee. I couldn't help but admire the old man right there. He had a kind of loyalty about him that I never differentiated from his loyalty to MIB. I could imagine if there was any mailman you could trust to deliver your mail, it was K. Then of course, that thought wasn't exactly that appealing.

"So what's on your mind?" This time I had to be the one to ask.

He leaned back a little and took me in. I could tell he'd been thinking about our talk ever since I left. Maybe, somehow, he did remember who I was, under that neutralized brain of his.

"How about your offer?"

I frowned. "What offer?"

"Your offer to help me…understand."

_Kevin Brown's P.O.V_

I had never expected, that I'd find myself actually taking his words and showing up at the same place in the same time. A normal person wouldn't have had to think twice about it. A normal person wouldn't have come, even though it was in a public place. I didn't know the man, and there was no reason for me to listen. But it was what I had done, and without realizing it, he had talked me into trusting him, if only just a little. So, I left the mail room earlier than usual for my break and decided to take the man known as J on his offer. I didn't know why, but, I thought I'd test him on his words. Sure enough, he came strutting in, and I knew right then and there, he wanted to try the same thing I had. He wanted to continue our conversation. If he was truly feeling the same way as I was, he hadn't thought twice about it either.

No matter what he wanted to get our of our talk, I felt, I needed to get more. I jumped right to the point of where we had left off. His expression showed me he wasn't prepared to answer the question, yet he saw it coming. He fidgeted in his seat and dropped his eyes to his coffee. He knew something. Something that he didn't want to share with me for whatever reason.

"Were you just, having fun with me?" I asked him. "Or did you really mean it?"

I needed to know. It felt like too much was at stake, and that was mainly due to the argument that had unfortunately taken place between me and my wife.

"Naw man, I wasn't playing with you."

It felt like I had really dragged it out of him.

"Then what were you doing?"

He looked at me. "I was being serious." I leaned back and he leaned forward. "I can help you. I'm just not sure I should."

"Why not?"

He buttoned his lip and looked at me with an expression that screamed pity. That was another thing I hated. When people looked at me with pity. I always felt compelled to punch a face like that, but I reframed from doing so. He looked away from me to the counter. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Jo. I turned my attention to him. He had been watching us while cleaning a glass. When he noticed I was watching him too, he cleared his throat and quickly turned away to handle some other matter in the back. I turned back to the mysterious man in black, just as he was turning back to look at me. He sighed and leaned back a little.

"If it's still about whether or not I can handle it…"

"Naw man, it's not that. It's just. My job."

"Your job?" I didn't know where he was going to go with it, but I pushed. "What does your job have to do with you not helping me?"

"Well-"

"I can't imagine a funeral business keeping their workers isolated."

At that, he started to laugh. Then he shook his head.

"Trust me, this ain't no funeral uniform."

"Then where do you work?"

"I'm afraid I can't say."

"Why not?"

"Top secret," he told me.

"Government stuff?" I guessed. The last thing I wanted to do, was push so hard that he refused me any answers.

"Something like that," he said. He took a sip of his coffee and I took a sip of mine. I looked down at the table. It was pretty clear to me now, or it seemed pretty clear. If he was some government man, there was a good chance he knew all about my life already, somehow. Probably been keeping tabs, and decided the best way to trap me was to orchestrate a conversation. A conversation that seemed like it wasn't linked to his business, but in actuality it was. I frowned, angered that I had been set up. Lured into a false sense of security.

"So that's all this is," I said.

"Huh?"

"You're working for the government and you're attempting to extract information from me. Something to do with my job? My wife."

He looked like he was starting to panic.

"No no no."

"It was a set up," I stated.

"Absolutely not. I was being one hundred percent sincere. Besides, the kind of job I do doesn't track ordinary civilians."

"What do you mean...ordinary?" I was intrigued beyond my better judgment. I was even more so from the look on his face. It was like the question had made him very grave.

"I suppose….I mean…you…and me," he answered slowly.

"You….and me," I repeated carefully. He nodded. "And what's not ordinary?" I felt like I had finally hit the hammer on the head. That this was the thing, the very thing, that was disrupting my life. The question of what was ordinary, and what was not. If he could clear that up for me, I was sure things would make a lot more sense.

He lowered his head, but just before he could say anything, the bell to the entrance door chimed and stole his attention. He did a double take at whoever was coming in. I too looked up. It was a serious looking fellow, in his mid 40's, in a brown fedora and matching trench coat. It was an odd thing for anybody to wear, being that it wasn't winter time. He looked average enough, except for the long scar across his left eye. He had a deadpan look as he scanned the café, but then his eyes fell on the man in black in front of me. I looked at J, then back to the man. It was clear there was a form of recognition between them, yet neither reacted. He briefly glanced down at me, then proceeded to the counter. J followed him with his eyes, then quickly returned to drinking his coffee.

"Friend of yours?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Just one of those, not so ordinary civilians I'm entitled to keep track of."

"Really." I glanced at the trench coat man. "And what makes him not so ordinary, besides his attire?"

He shook his head again.

"Everything."

_Agent J's P.O.V_

It was the type of conversation I wanted to avoid at all cost. The type that brought up my work and unordinary civilians. I could've kicked myself for getting in so deep with the guy I wasn't suppose to be getting deep with. I don't know why I expected any different. Of course we were going to hit that subject. There was no other way for me to really help him unless I brought up the idea that some people were ordinary, and some were not. I could hear Zed now. I could see him relocating me to those nasty-ass bathrooms.

I shook my head and studied him, I mean really studied him. He looked like all the world depended on my ability to give him the truth. I figured, "why the hell not", but another part of me was saying "hell no, just go!". But I couldn't. I couldn't leave the man like that. Besides, he realized he had hit gold when he started to push on the subject, and there was no other way I could stretch our talk or divert him to talk about something else. So while I'm trying to figure out just how to explain it without making myself sound more crazy, in walked a familiar face in a trench coat.

His name was Xarrex, from the planet Annibliah. He was a shady alien, often hired for assassination plots on other alien species. He had managed to fulfill his goal once when he was sent here to take out an ambassador, not of the human kind. It was the first, and only time I'd come across an alien that was able to get the better of some of our agents. He ended up killing three before escaping back to his own planet. It was out of our jurisdiction to follow which did nothing but piss me off. But even if we could pass that law, word had gotten to us that he had completely vanished there. And now, he had managed to somehow sneak back on this planet. When he looked at me, it all came back. He knew I remembered, and that I was going to give him pure hell, but he didn't seem the least bit bothered. And then he looked at K which made me real nervous. K had been the first to try and secure the guy before I was in MIB. He even managed to take out his brother, and I had no doubt, that the death of his brother set him off to increase his assassinations and turn to killing MIB agents. Before that, he hadn't gone that far, as far as I was told. It was only after K had left and I had come in, did he turn his many tentacles on humans. He was a slippery dude. He was able to escape both myself and K, but not without some damage. I'd been able to give him that scar across his eye. So was it a coincidence that he had just now walked into the place where we both were?

"_Damn_."

The curse wasn't loud enough for him to hear, but it might as well be. Now I had a bigger reason to kick my own ass for starting this. I watched him give his order to some blonde behind the counter. Just out of sight in the back, I could see Joe watching from the window of the kitchen door. He knew who the dude was. For his appearance, I could only assume he'd been following me for some time, and I hadn't known it. He might have been capable enough to see who I was with and overhear the "Same time, Same place" line I'd fed to K. So in the end, we all showed up at the same damn time, in the same damn place.

I noticed K was still watching me. I took a sip of my coffee and tried to appear calm. I knew he was waiting for me to explain about how unordinary Xarrex was, but I didn't think he was the best example to explain with.

"Problem?"

"You could say that," I told him. "And at the worst time too. We was just starting to bond."

He frowned at that, but kept pushing.

"Problem, because he's so unordinary?"

"Yep."

"How do you mean?"

I set my coffee down and swallowed.

"You wouldn't believe me."

All he had to do was give me that look.

"How about you try me."

If there was one thing I might have taken out of Xarrex's arrival, it was that he was an excuse for me to cut our conversation short again. I watched as he moved with his steaming cup of coffee right to the table I had sat at before moving over to sit with K. He didn't look up at us, but it was obvious he didn't move there because it was the only free table. He kept his head down and focused on opening a few packages of sugar and creamer.

I turned back to K and sighed. I would try him.

"Okay, what would you say, if I told you that that guy was an alien?" I whispered the question and motioned to Xarrex behind me.

_Kevin Brown's P.O.V_

I knew I was hitting dangerous territory when I kept questioning the unordinary, but I didn't care. If he didn't want to answer, he could simply walk away, but he didn't. And now there was this situation of the trench coated gentleman. I could feel a more serious tension that wasn't present in the man before. Something had changed, and I wasn't sure what that was. Either way, I was caught in the middle of something I had no intention of getting into, all because I wanted some answers. I was starting to think it would be best for me to be the one to walk away. To accept that some things were just too big to be comprehended. That I had no right questioning what was around me, or who I was. But I was intrigued beyond my better judgment. He seemed to have some kind of answer, until the trench coat guy seated himself at his table. I had been willing to hear what the man had to say, but then it stopped when he mentioned that one word.

"If you know me so well, why don't you tell me what I'd say?" I challenged.

"You'd say, let's get in there and bust a cap in his ass."

"Wrong," I told him. It was plain and simple. "I'd say you really are crazy. You don't know what's going on out there any more than I do, so you resort to the claim that there are aliens out there. Aliens among us."

"It's not a claim. It's a fact."

"Any man or woman can claim they've seen aliens which proves one thing. They are the ones with the mental disorder. As for you, I'm not quite sure I understand how you were planning to explain my problem using that scenario." I stared him down as I tried to talk sense into him. On the inside, I was madder than hell. "And I am sorry to say, that you are wasting my time."

"Look, I know how this sounds, but can you keep your voice down. You don't want Xarrex to hear you. Ocktoleptias have sharp hearing man."

I couldn't help quirking my brow at that.

"Octo what?"

He pulled back a little and sighed. To him, I was sure I seemed stubborn. I often heard I could be, from my wife.

"Look, deep down, you know what that is," he confessed. "And I shouldn't even be saying any of this right now, but, we're in a tight situation. I'm pretty sure that Xarrex is out for revenge. Ain't no coincidence he showed up here."

I shook my head.

"So? It doesn't have anything to do with me."

"It has a lot to do with you. And me man."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because we used to work together." Now he was looking desperate as opposed to anxious.

"I don't think so."

"Well I do."

I just shook my head at the man. Before, I had assumed that he really was like me. That he had been another man out there searching for answers. From the way he talked with me yesterday, I had assumed he had found those answers, and I wanted to be where he was. But now it was clear…I didn't want to be anywhere near this man. I didn't want to have whatever answers he had found in my head. He really was crazy, and he was trying to drag me down with him. I wasn't going to let him.

"You must think I'm a fool."

"What?"

"This is what you do for a living? Go around to people with…problems, and claim aliens have something to do with it?"

He gave a quick glance at the trench coated man he kept calling Zar-reck, then looked at the counter. Afterwards he quickly scanned the perimeter, then he pulled out his slim phone that he held low in his lap, I assumed so the man behind him couldn't see it.

"What are you doing? Making contact?"

He shook his head and dialed.

"We got a serious situation here, and I'm gonna need some back up since my partner can't seem to remember what a Ocktoleptias is."

"And by partner you mean me?" I asked him.

"By partner, I mean you." He said it without looking up at me. "Damn. I can't get the signal out. He must be blocking it."

"The alien?" I didn't know why I decided to play along, but I did.

"The alien," he agreed.

"Who just so happens to look like an ordinary man in a trench coat."

"How many ordinary guys do you know in trench coats that aren't hiding something?" If he had been paying full attention to me instead of dialing, he might have realized I was mocking him. "Come on, work."

"And that something is…inhumanness."

Finally he looked at me, like I was the one annoying him. The strange thing was, he didn't yell or throw a fit. He just looked at me as if this were a deadly serious situation or rather, that he was seriously pissed.

"If you don't believe me, I suggest you take another look at trench coat man."

I don't know what made me do it. I shouldn't have been following anything else he said. I'd made up my mind that I was done with him.

"You want answers?" he asked. "You want to know what's out there? Who you really are? Then see for yourself."

The way he said it intrigued me. So I looked over at the man. He raised his head up and looked at me with a grim expression on his face. No. It was an expression that told me he knew who I was, and he was not happy. At first I was inclined to think he had some problem with the postal system and I was a target for his anger, but then—it happened. Something dropped from the bottom of his coat. It dropped next to his right leg, and it wasn't a loose strap or belt. It was something thick and capable of curling like a tail. It wasn't a tail. I just kept staring as two more dropped down. They were tentacles of a deep purple shade. It looked too real to be some kind of animatronic trick, and for the moment I was taken in. Surely no one would go to such lengths to make a story believable.

No one else had noticed. I was getting a private show. I alone was receiving a possible answer that I no longer wanted.

Without raising alarm, I turned back to the man simply known as J. He had been watching my reaction the whole time. He was calm and patient, while on the inside, I was becoming more confused than ever. I had a simple question in mind that I hoped would clear up both himself, and the costumed figure. My view shifted back to the man again as more tentacles started to fall. A smirk started to spread across his face. Whether or not he could hear me from across the room, I asked my one question softly as I stared back at him.

"What are you?"

**Done with another chapter! **

**Alright, originally, it was going to be more talk between J and K with no alien interruption. Somehow, after days of building it up, the conversation started to veer in a direction that led to the arrival of Xarrex. The conversation would have had K's feelings out on the table more and J discussing ways to help. Also, it was going to be the start of where it was almost a daily thing for them to meet at the café. But I decided to get the ball rolling with the action and drama part of it. So I don't know if this is going to be a three-shot or four-shot. I planned for it to be a five chaptered story, but since I'm kind of writing on the spot, we will see. **

**Review Guys! Even those of you favoriting the story! Review, Review, Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright guys chapter 3! This is the action part of the fic! So the trench coated man has revealed himself to be an alien and only K has noticed. How will he handle what else he has to bring?**

**Who Am I?**

_Agent J's P.O.V_

If there was anything I was thankful for, at that moment, it was that K stayed cool. Or more importantly he stayed right where he was when I brought up the word "alien". Now anybody else would have immediately thought, "This guy is crazy", then get up and leave without a word. K had no reason to stay there with me, other than curiosity. But then there was the case of me promising to help him. That would be the smart way to see it, but I knew there was a bigger reason. A reason that kept the neuralyzer from causing him to act like a regular human. MIB was who he was. He was an agent, who devoted his time to being around aliens of all sorts. Like the man was in-between being a human and alien.

At the moment, that wasn't the man in front of me. The man in front of me was some clueless stranger, curious, but empty. And it wasn't going to do me any good. That's why I sucked up my pride and resorted to calling back-up. But of course Xarrex had to block my damn signal with his hidden antenna. Now I'm thinking, it probably would have been a smart thing to let K think I was crazy and motion for him to walk out of here. He was partially right when he said it didn't have anything to do with him. He was a neutral. He didn't deal in the affairs of aliens intentionally, but that didn't mean an alien wouldn't pounce his ass. K was a legend, and as a legend, he was bound to run into a few pissed off creatures that still had it in for him. So far, he'd been in the clear…until today.

So all in all, K was still involved even if he didn't know it or understand it. so I thought it was in my best interest to keep an eye on him at the moment since one of those pissed off aliens happened to find his way to him. Maybe it was my fault. My fault for drawing attention to the ex-agent. I looked at K. His expression was blank, but at the same time intrigued, however confused. Almost like an innocent kid. If something happened to him because I decided to step over my boundaries, I'd never forgive myself. It was a stupid mistake, and now I had to fix it by making sure he got out of this in time to deliver the next t.v. guide.

I decided to push him to remember. I leapt over that boundary and straight out told him that Xarrex was an alien, and to make it worse, I prodded him to see for himself. I knew Zed might argue that I should have pissed K off and got him to walk out, but the thing was, if Xarrex was already in a room with you, you were screwed. In the moment he stepped through that door, we was all already dead. But the question was, was I alone? Did I have my partner in front of me like old times?

I watched as K watched Xarrex unfold those tentacles of his from his wanna be detective coat. I didn't have to look around to know that's what he was doing. I'd seen the way he did it before. He liked to put on a show to any watcher. I couldn't remember a time I'd ever used my neuralyzer so much in one day.

K didn't react the way a normal person would have.

A normal person would have screamed. He would have made a scene and stirred up the whole café. Now, any average alien might have punked out of attacking if somebody was already acting crazy. Inconspicuous was usually the key, but not with this guy. Xarrex didn't care if something huge was already going on. If there was pandemonium, he would increase that pandemonium by showing what he was really made of.

When K looked back at me, I was sure I had gotten my partner back. Then of course, it turned out to be a lie. He was not yet ready to believe Xarrex was a real alien. Probably thought it was some Hollywood trick to lure him in. But still, he wasn't so sure. If he was, he wouldn't have asked that question.

Slowly I pulled out my single star imploder pistol. K didn't do so much as quirk an eyebrow.

"What he is, is about to be spilled all over this floor," I told him. I could only imagine how frightened he was becoming, even if he refused to show it.

"You really take your role seriously, don't you?"

I knew he wasn't talking about my job as an MIB agent. Apparently he thought I was about to put on some Hollywood show, and that Xarrex was just a costumed freak. Well in a few minutes, he was about to see how very wrong he was.

"Yes I do."

Xarrex knew what was coming. In a matter of seconds, he sent his table tumbling over across the floor. I turned and Xarrex was standing. Every eye was on the man as his coat fell back, and ten tentacles rose into the air. I was used to the screams that came, especially when several smaller tentacles ripped out of the human mask on his face. He raised his hands, which were no longer hands, but claws like a crab's. He bared those ugly ass pointed teeth as the excitement started to get to him. I was on my feet and soon enough, so was K. My pistol was pointed right at the Ocktoleptias's head.

"FREEZE!"

Of course they never listen. He turned to me and sent a nearby sofa headed my way. I had just enough time to shout out to K. "Get Down!" We ducked and it hit the wall behind us, leaving a huge crack and knocking a bunch of pictures to the floor.

People were running to the only exit, and to make matters worse, he used his tentacles to grab tables and chairs to hurl at the running crowd. Furniture went flying through the window and knocking down innocents. He threw one that momentarily blocked the door, but people climbed over nonetheless.

"Carrying this kind of far aren't you kid?" I heard K yell.

"I'm not the one carrying it!" I yelled back. "Follow me, and stay down."

I led him behind a short wall that divided a part of the café. The only thing on it were a couple of vases with plants. It was just tall enough to give us cover, so long as we stayed crouched. I peeked up at the counter just as Xarrex sent a table at the workers. The women screamed and hurried out of the way. I didn't see any sign of Jo. I was sure he probably chickened out and escaped out the back.

K took a moment to peek over the wall, but ducked in time as a napkin dispenser was hurled toward him.

His eyes were wide with panic.

"Now do you believe me?" I managed to ask in the chaos.

He just looked at me, lost for words. I'd hoped, in that moment, K would somehow come back to me. That Xarrex wrecking the place would trigger the memories of old times.

"M…I…B!" His momentary tantrum stopped.

"Xarrex!" I yelled. "I am ordering you to put your claws and your tentacles up. You are under arrest for endangering civilians, destruction of property, and…looking that ugly in public!"

Like most wanna be bad-asses, he laughed.

"I think not, agent J. And…I should say, agent K."

K looked around at me, wanting to know that he was really referring to him. I gave him a nod. I watched as his expression darkened.

"What have you gotten me into slick?"

"Nothing you haven't been into before, partner," I confessed.

"I'm not so sure. I wanted answers, but these are not the answers I wanted."

I had just enough time to sigh.

"Come on out agent J!...agent K!" Xarrex yelled.

"Well these are the answers that are real. I mean for real, for reals. Aliens exist, you used to be my partner, it is not that hard to understand."

"No," he agreed. "Just hard to believe."

A couple of chairs went sailing over our heads. I took that moment to pull up and fire a few shots at him. He used a table and chair to block them. Then he used a tentacle to pull out a pistol and fire back. The vase above our heads shattered.

"How come I don't remember it then?" K asked me.

"Would you believe you volunteered to have that memory wiped?"

After a pause, he nodded.

"I believe it."

"Good, cause I might need your help…til back up gets here." I made another attempt to contact headquarters. I was thinking, by now, someone had contacted the police and told them some crazy story about an octopus monster.

"I don't think I can," K admitted. "If what you say is true, that part of my memory is gone."

"It's not. You're right here."

"Not anymore!"

The side of the wall on my left exploded as a shot fired through. The next thing I felt was a punch sending me to the back wall.

_Kevin Brown's P.O.V_

I was sure anyone in my position, would hope for the nightmare to be an illusion. To be some promotional stunt for some new cinematic feature. Of course, I knew they wouldn't go as far as to harm innocent civilians. It was the obvious clue that showed me the man in black and the man in the trench coat weren't working together. That the man known as J was somehow telling the truth. My mind did not want to accept it, but it also did not want to deny it. Aliens. But not just aliens. I had to have had been his partner on top of that. All I could think was, "Why did I have to open my mouth?"

Had I not, I was sure none of this would have happened. Then again, maybe it would have. Probably somewhere else where J was not. Right now, he had the answers. He knew how to deal with this, however, the smart thing to do would be to follow the other coffee drinkers who were most likely panicking in the streets.

But then that Zarreck fellow had to go and make the place a danger zone. Out of every possible human in the café, J and myself were the only one's left. The worst part of that, aside from being targeted, was that the man had the nerve to assume I'd help him.

Never in my life, had I heard of a mailman being asked to assist any form of law enforcement. Especially not one that required a belief in alien life. But it was taking place right before me. It was my choice to accept it, or further deny it. I wanted to deny it. I wanted to return home and forget that this ever happened. I wanted to see my wife.

When J argued that that part of me, the part that believed in this sort of thing, was still here, I wanted to argue that it wasn't. I wanted to tell him I had a life. An ordinary one, and whatever business he'd gotten me wrapped into, I wanted no part of it.

But then he went away. The wall exploded and he went flying across the room. I barely had enough time to react. The next thing I knew, something grabbed me around the middle and I was hoisted into the air.

The trench-coated man had a tentacle wrapped around my body. Any chance of fleeing was terminated. Fleeing was not a concern. It was having a potential heart attack. My arms had been locked down at my sides, under his slimy limb. He grinned at me with those large pointed teeth of his, then moved me closer to his…face. It was indescribable.

"Agent K, we meet again." Part of his voice sounded human, like a distinguished gentleman, intermixed with some unidentified creature. All I could do was stare and compare him to a crab like sea creature. "Well? Nothing to say, for once?"

"I believe you have…the wrong person," I told him simply.

He pulled me even closer. I felt the air around me being sucked toward him, and it took me a few seconds to realized he was testing my scent.

"I'm never wrong. You're scent hasn't changed, even if your look has." He briefly glanced down at my uniform. "We have unfinished business. Business concerning the Zartherozzi."

"I don't know what you're talking about." I hoped he would just accept it and release me. It was taking all my effort to prevent myself from fainting. He gave me a hard shake that took me off guard. A motion that made me believe I might really die today.

"YOU KNOW!" He pulled me closer than before. I struggled, but his grip on me was too tight. "Deep down, under that neuralyzed brain, you know what I'm talking about!"

The debris from the wall began to shift and stole both of our attentions. I looked over as my so-called partner was surfacing. He was shaking off the hit and slowly coming to his feet. When he realized where I was, he was not happy. If anything, he looked frightened, on top of being angry. He pointed his special gun, right at Zarreck's head. I frowned when I noticed his hands shaking slightly.

"Let him go."

He sounded so serious. More serious then he had today and yesterday. There was also a hint of fear in his voice. Zarreck rose me higher in the air, and before I realized it, I felt the point of something cold on the back of my neck. Without being able to see it, I knew it was one of those special guns. I wasn't sure I could take anymore of this. I noticed agent J's expression darken, and he tightened his grip on his weapon.

"But of course Agent J, just as soon as I retrieve the information from him."

"He doesn't know what you're talking about! He's been neuralyzed," he explained.

"Tell me something I don't know," Zarreck argued.

"Then leave him out of this. You got a problem, talk to me."

"You said it yourself. He's still here. And this series 700 Thuro-Max pointed at the back of his neck will make sure he tells me what I want to know. Isn't that right, agent K?"

I felt that cold metal press harder into my neck. In that moment, I wasn't trying to force myself to remember what either of them were talking about. I wasn't even thinking about the fact that I had become a hostage to an extraterrestrial. I was only thinking about the moment before I came to the café. Before I met the mysterious man in black.

I had had an ordinary life with my wife. I questioned it. I was unsatisfied with it, but it was my life nonetheless. And now, it appeared that life was over. It wasn't by accident that it was ending. I had chose to distinguish that life, and I hadn't even known it until know. I hadn't realized how much I desired to do so. I looked at J as he tried to figure out the best tactic to take. Right then, I couldn't decide if it was better not knowing. Right then it felt better to know, but at the same time, it was too much for me to take. The truth changed too much. I realized if I managed to survive this, I'd never have my old life back. I would always know.

I thought about my wife again. I always wanted it to be real, but how real was it now? It was on the verge of breaking up. I wasn't ready for the truth to seep that far. And I certainly wasn't ready to be abducted or killed by an alien.

"Tell me what you know about the Zartherozzi!" Again, the Zarreck fellow was demanding that I give up something I supposedly knew.

"He doesn't know what you're talking about!" J answered for me. I could only assume the reason he had not shot was because he was stalling for as long as he could, until further help arrived. If there was anything I could do to help, I decided I would try it.

"Do you? Agent J? It was before your time."

"If you knew K was a neutral then why did you—"

"I've always planned to come back to this planet. In fact, I've been here a good while, even if he or you haven't realized it."

At that, J gave him a questioning look.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about delivering myself...to him." He looked at me, and I could only return a similar questioning expression. "A situation about the Zartherozzi came up with one of my clients who remembers your old partner quite well. And when a client feels someone knows much more than they should, with proof of course, something needs to be done. And this time I would do it free of charge."

"For your brother," J questioned.

"That's right."

"So, you've been spying on him?"

"And awaiting a proper moment. And what better moment, than one where another agent, his partner, decides to stir up old memories. It would make my job much easier. I believe the human expression 'kill two birds with one stone' comes to mind."

The confession was odd. It was similar to our own situation. I had not known someone like agent J was watching me, along with an alien which neither of us realized was watching us both. It all circled back around, and in a few minutes it would all conclude, somehow. I knew the conclusion might involve my death. The question was, would I accept it? Go down, still not understanding.

"So, how about it, ex-agent K? Tell me what you know."

"I don't know…what you're talking about." I knew he wouldn't accept it, but it was the honest truth.

"Well, in that case, it may be time to end this."

The metal pressed further into my neck. Afterwards, I heard a loud, unusual gunshot.

_Agent J's P.O.V_

It was a risk. A bad risk to take, but I had to do something. I couldn't just let him hang. I was already starting to feel guilty for allowing Xarrex a clear shot at me. Now I'd been knocked around a good number of times. In fact, it was always me who got the slap, the punch or was tossed up into the air or across the room. I was like the punching bag, while my partners did more serious work or escaped those hits altogether. I'd never had to put up with anything that physical as a cop. I always came out unscraped, and un-dizzy.

I usually got over them quick enough, because there was usually nothing to risk.

Now there was.

Xarrex had been able to snatch up K when I was down. It wouldn't have been a concern in the past, except now, K had no experience on the matter. I kept thinking how easy it would be for me to lose him right there. It wasn't like the time he had been swallowed by a giant cockroach. That time, he knew what he was doing, no matter how messed up the idea was. I mean, had it been me, I'd be like "Hell no!"

But this time, K didn't have a plan. All he could do was stay trapped in one of Xarrex's slimy tentacles, while I did all the work. But I had to do it carefully. This wasn't something I could jump into, like I often did according to Zed. Xarrex could squeeze the life out of him before I got a good shot in. I couldn't remember a moment where I wanted to be as perfect as K seemed to be. Knowing exactly what to do, and how to do it.

I usually felt I was in those moments, but it was always different when you knew the person you were trying to protect. I'd witnessed an officer having to deal with a hostage situation, where one of the damn hostages was his wife. It was the same thing here. K wasn't just anybody, he was somebody. It was the reason my hands shook when I held my gun. I looked at K. He was frightened, but it didn't show as strong as it would have, had he not been K. There was still courage in the man, and that told me he might have a chance to get out of this, unscraped. He wouldn't be one of those hostages that couldn't cope and tragically lost their minds. He was holding it together, which meant I had to hold it together.

So it was a risk when I took that shot at Xarrex. He could have flinched and set off his own weapon, right at K's neck. But as an MIB agent, or an agent in any field of law enforcement, I couldn't let my emotions get in the way. I had to act. I knew K would have wanted me to. In fact, he would have told me to leave or take drastic measures regardless of what happened to him. But I wouldn't work like that if k was involved.

The minute that shot hit his neck, was the minute all hell seemed to break loose.

Xarrex threw his head back and growled. And before he could take it out on K, I just kept firing shots at him. Wouldn't give him the chance to shoot. I was moving in, targeting the limb that held the gun so that he dropped it. Xarrex started to tighten his grip around K, but I fired a shot there too.

He didn't let go. He stumbled back and quickly pulled K in front of him like a shield. It was close. I could have killed the guy, but I stopped in time.

My gun was at Xarrex, even though it seemed to be targeting K. I kept tossing glances at the man. He looked sick, like he'd been on one of those twisting roller coasters at an age he had no business being on. I didn't realize how hard I was breathing, until I felt how hard my heart was pounding.

"It's okay K," I couldn't help saying. I couldn't tell what he thought of me saying that. "I got this."

"Well I beg, to differ," said Xarrex. He was grinning at me with them ugly ass teeth. And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, his wounds started to heal up. That was another thing that made it hard when trying to bring him down.

"What are you going to do now Agent J? Shoot me through him? It's the only way."

I glanced up at K. I was sure he was thinking I would take that chance. I gave a slight shake of my head to let him know it wouldn't happen. I'd find another way.

"It's not," K suddenly said, which caught both me and Xarrex off guard.

"What's that?" Xarrex asked.

"It's not the only way. You're under the impression that the kid doesn't have the situation under control." The way K said it, made me think that the old K was back.

"He doesn't."

"He does."

"It's only him."

"No," K disagreed. "The kid comes with back-up."

"You think I'm a fool? Stalling for time? I know for a fact I've blocked out his chances of calling the other agents here."

"I wasn't referring to other agents," K explained.

"Then who were you, referring to?"

K wasn't looking at Xarrex when he said it. He was looking at me. He gave me the smallest nod.

"Me."

I lowered my gun to the thick part of the limb wrapped around K's waist. After a quick turn on a dial, I fired. It was possibly the riskiest move of all. Most MIB high-tech weaponry was powerful enough to blast through many layers. Xarrex yelled and K fell to the floor. There was no blood leaking from him, which told me the shot hadn't penetrated through him.

I didn't have enough time to give him a full medical examination. Xarrex sent a table coming my way. The blast from my imploder had been strong enough to blast it apart. Xarrex was reaching for more projectiles, but was interrupted when a shot fired his shoulder.

Xarrex let out his loudest scream when a gush of black ooze squirted from it like a volcano. We both looked to see the source and saw K holding Xarrex's dropped Thuro-Max. He didn't quite look like he knew what he was doing, but he did look determined, if not scared as hell.

"Told you he had back up," he told him.

In an instant, one of his tentacles came sweeping around at K, knocking him across the room toward me. His weight toppled me over. I quickly motioned for him to move behind the counter while I listened to Xarrex hiss. I took that opportunity to observe my one time partner. He was really sweating man.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say I had my old partner back," I told him.

"Think again," he told me. "I was stalling, until you decided to do something."

"I had it under control. Now I have it more under control with a badass mailman next to me."

K seemed to fall into the routine right away. We were both peeking in and around the counter firing shots at Xarrex. My shots didn't seem to be as affective as the Thuro-Max K was handling. The only time his black blood gushed was when his own weapon was fired at him. But in the mist of our firing, Xarrex was able to pull out another weapon.

"This…really what I…used to do…" K managed to ask me in-between shots. "Was this...really,...who I am?"

"In another life….yes," I said.

"Hmm,…not sure…it beats…the postal service," he managed to say.

"Well..," I had to duck as a couple of his shots came my way. "At this point…I'm not so sure either."

We stayed hidden behind the counter as pieces of wood and other debris went flying from his blasts. If my back-up didn't come soon, we'd look no different from the ruined café.

K took a moment to shut his eyes and catch his breath.

"Come on out agents!" Xarrex called. "You have no where to go. Let us end this…right now."

K opened his eyes and turned to me.

"How are we going to get out of this slick?"

"Well, back in the day, you were the one with the plan," I told him.

"Back in the day, I obviously knew what the plan was. I don't have a clue about what's going on."

"I can see that. But it didn't stop you from using a weapon did it."

He looked at me like I'd brought all this hell on him, in which case I kind of did. But there was no time to point fingers. I needed Xarrex subdued, and I needed K to stay alive.

"Alright, switch." He took my gun and gave me Xarrex's. "You take the shots and I'll cover you."

It felt even more like I had the old K back.

"Talking like a real agent. Sure you're not back?"

"Go," he hissed.

I looked for an opening and took it. I raced out, firing his own weapon. Now the blood was coming. Xarrex turned to me, but K distracted him by using my gun. In this moment, I didn't care what the science declared. K was able to get past his neuralyzed mind in order to help me. It was like he reached deep down into his subconscious and found that part of him that knew how to kick some ass. The thing was, he didn't realize he had done it. Right then, I was glad I had broken the rule to talk with him. So much so that I actually wished Zed and the others could see him now.

I kept firing off my rounds. The way his blood gushed up, it was like fireworks going off at the fourth of July. We were winning, we could do this.

But then something happened.

Xarrex pulled out another weapon from behind him with a hidden tentacle. I was just able to see it move, straight for K. I couldn't even hear myself yell his name. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the result. The shot was fired. K didn't see it in time. My gun nearly fell out of my hand, when I saw K fall back out of sight.

**WHOA! That's quite a cliffy isn't it! I think I said in the last chapter that this one was going to be action oriented. So K finds himself working with J like old times. Like J said, he was able to try and access that part of him that knew how to use a weapon, sort of. Anyways, You're probably dying to know what happens next, especially as it seems J's worst fear has come true. Has K been killed?**

**You know, I planned for this story to be four chapters long. But lately, I've gotten an idea for it to stretch slightly longer. MIB2 didn't go too far with a neutral K, and there's many ways to play with that, so I suppose I'll go a little farther. All in all, this might wrap up after two more chapters, at the most.**

**Please send me your reviews everyone! Even those of you favoriting it. I'm glad to get a lot of attention for it, especially since the new movie's come out, MIB 3 which I haven't seen yet. I fear spoilers, so I'm waiting until I see the movie to read your reviews. Therefore, feel free to write anything there. Positive. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Men in Black**

**Alright, chapter 4! We last left off with K being seriously wounded,…or worse! And J and Xarrex are caught up in a deadly battle. In this chapter, a special appearance.**

**Where Am I?**

_Kevin Brown's P.O.V_

I don't know what made me do it. What made me go the extra length? What made me risk my life, for a man that was all but a stranger to me. I could only imagine what my wife would say if she knew I had held a gun, let alone shot one. But it wasn't just any kind of gun. It was a special technological kind. One I was sure no man outside J's field had seen before. Like one of those weapons used on a science fiction show, except it wasn't a thing of science fiction. The same went for Zarreck's weapon.

Still, it had the trigger, so I fired.

I never had experience handling a gun before, but for some reason, I felt like I knew just how to handle it. I wasn't scared. I was determined. I was even more determined when I decided to cover my supposed partner. But then it had all gone wrong.

Zarreck had been able to get the best of me. There was no reason why he shouldn't. He knew what he was doing more than I did. And if I'd been as good as they both seemed to think, I would have seen that shot coming. Instead I felt it. And quickly enough, I felt the floor.

My right shoulder was on fire. I had never experienced such a severe form of pain. At first, I thought I had received an electric shock. But once the pain spread, I was sure I was a dead man. The force had been strong enough to bring me down and cause a blood flow that nothing in my life had ever caused.

The best I could do was put the pressure on it. But touching it increased the fire. I was putting all my effort into focusing on the present. Right now the world was trying to spin on me. I couldn't afford to black out. Not now. I had been so close to the answer. So close to understanding who I really was.

I leaned against the counter and listened to the gun fire take place between J and Zarreck. All I could do was clamp onto my shoulder and wonder how such a normal day could turn into a day where I had been shot by the weapon of an extraterrestrial.

The door to the kitchen area slowly opened, and I was surprised to see Jo standing there. He was pale, clearly a sign of his terror. I could only imagine what he was thinking as he watched that alien J was fighting. I expected him to faint dead away. But the way he watched them, it was hard for me to tell if he was more shocked by what was happening to his café than the fact that he was seeing a real live creature from another world. I knew if he stood there any longer, he could end up injured, or worse.

"Jo." I was surprised by how weak I was suddenly feeling. "Jo! Get out of here now!"

He still had a chance, but I wasn't so sure the same went for myself and J. His eyes dropped down to me, and if anything he looked more alarmed than he did while he was watching the battle. He hurried over and dropped down by my side.

"K, you're hurt." It didn't register that he had called me K, rather than Mr. Brown. He never knew my first name, but at the moment, it didn't matter.

"Don't worry," I told him. "It's not too bad."

"Not too bad?" He wasn't fooled by my attempt to ease the situation. "You're bleeding."

His fingers hovered around the wound.

"And you will be too if you don't get out of here."

Jo took the opportunity to press down at the edge of the shot sight, causing me to cry out in pain.

"What are you—"

"That's no normal shot. If you don't get help soon…."

The sound of guttural choking stole his attention. Jo peeked over the edge of the counter.

"What's….happening?" I asked.

"That thing is trying to strangle your friend," he told me.

Without fully thinking about it, I reached down for J's weapon and started to push myself to get up. Jo ducked back down when he noticed.

"What are you doing?"

"I know this sounds crazy, but I have to help him."

"But you can't! You're injured. Look, I've already contacted MIB, so they should be here in no time."

"MIB?" I asked. I couldn't tell if it was a branch of law enforcement I may have heard of once, or some form of help Jo had for himself. "Look, I can't wait for them. My only hope in understanding what's going on is about to be killed, now you can either help me or stand aside."

He studied my serious expression for a moment, before reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a silvery blue pistol.

"Then take this. It's an Apex-Mega 3000. It should be able to take out Xarrex."

I blinked, surprised to learn he was harboring another one of those unusual weapons, let alone hearing him use the alien's name. But before I could ask if he was somehow involved with the man in black, he had thrust the weapon into my hand. The guttural choking reached me again. I broke my gaze from Jo and worked my way to my feet. The fiery sting traveled all the way down my right side, but I did my best to ignore it. Right now, I needed to save the mysterious man.

He was lying on a table with that Zarreck fellow perched over him, strangling the life out of him. The weapon he had used was on the floor. I took careful aim for the back of the alien's head. It was hard to concentrate since he had all of his tentacles waving around himself. Still, I found and opening and fired.

The kick on the gun surprised me and knocked me back a few steps. I lowered the gun and stared at it. It was definitely not a normal weapon. So aside from J, I would have to have a talk with Jo. But right now, the focus was on one mystery. Zarreck didn't go down. Unfortunately the kick threw off my aim at the last second, so I had only managed to clip him. A gush of his black blood spurted out the side of his neck causing him to scream and release J. But he wasn't down yet. I fired again, but the gun was empty.

"Only one shot!" I shouted at Jo.

He waved his hands in surrender.

"My kind is more of a peaceful race," he explained.

"You're kind?" I questioned. I didn't have a lot of time to focus on what he meant. Zarreck had placed a tentacle on his neck and was turning to me.

"Give me something!" I ordered.

"Like what? This is not exactly a—"

A shot from Zarreck's weapon clipped Jo's cheek and knocked him down.

"JO!"

I didn't have time to check on him. Instead I looked around for something and spotted a pitch fork. I don't know what made me do it. What made me think that such creativity was wise, but I stuck it in the barrel and took aim at Zarreck's head. He moved his weapon to take aim at me, then he opened his mouth to scream. All his sharp teeth glittered black. His tentacles were shaking like a rattlesnake's tail. I fired.

This time, I had a better hold on the gun, now that I knew what to expect. The fork went hurtling at him, faster than a regular bullet. Faster than his weapon could fire. This time I was right on target. The fork went straight through his skull. His head was knocked back from the force, and within a minute, he fell to his knees, then onto his face. He was dead.

_Agent J's P.O.V_

There were times when a one on one didn't necessarily work out the way I wanted it to. Times where my opponent would get the better of me and manage to kick my ass from time to time. But no matter how many times it happened, I was still able to get the jump on him in the end, whether or not I had someone watching my back. The thing that helped was that I was more focused on the situation at hand. In cases like that, there were no other distractions. But this time there was a distraction. K was the distraction, and when he went down—I went down.

Xarrex was able to get the better of me. In the instant I'd seen my partner drop, Xarrex was able to get a good punch in the chaos. The next thing I knew, the odds were in his favor. His punches were coming at me a lot stronger than before, while I was doing my hardest to keep my mind focused. Then there was an intense trade of gunfire between us.

Even though K wasn't my partner, in this moment, I had been grateful that I wasn't alone. And when he was pretending to know what he was doing, like taking shots at Xarrex and covering for me, I felt, regardless of what he said, I had had my partner back. But then I had been on my own and Xarrex found the opportunity to take advantage of that.

I believed it was over. Xarrex had a tentacle wrapped around my neck, choking the life out of me. Xarrex was grinning at me, enjoying every minute of it.

"I believe this is it, Agent J," he whispered. I didn't want to admit it, but it looked like he was gonna be right for once.

Then out of no where I saw a splash of hope when Xarrex's blood shot out his neck. He screamed and let me go. I struggled to get air back into my lungs. Then I turned and saw K. The mailman hadn't been wiped out. He was standing, but he was shaky on his feet and his shoulder was bleeding pretty bad. In that moment I was thinking the slogan about mailmen was true. Neither rain, nor sleet, nor series 700 Thuro-Max was enough to stop him from making a special delivery to the slimy sea bastard. Of course, it would have been better if he'd gotten a shot in at his head. But that signaled for me to take part. I dropped to the floor in search of my gun. If Xarrex had another chance at him, it would be over for real. I heard a shot, and I froze when I heard something drop to the floor. I couldn't look up.

But then I heard K cry "JO!" so I knew it wasn't him. Xarrex was closing in on him though, but by the time I found my gun, it was too late. I heard the shot and looked up and saw a pitch fork coming through the back of Xarrex's head. I watched, shocked, as he dropped to his knees, then onto his face. It was over, but not for me. Xarrex was done, and K had delivered his best message to him yet.

I looked up at the mailman, expecting to see K in a black suit, instead of the light blue shirt and shorts. He still had his gun held out, and that determined, badass expression on his face.

In that second, K was back.

Behind me, I heard the screech of car tires. My back-up had just arrived. But they had been too late to witness an ex-MIB agent take down the bad guy. I turned back to K. His hands were shaking slightly as he continued to grip that weapon. He was staring right at me. Asking me with his eyes if what he had just done was real. I just gave him a quick nod.

"Good work partner. Knew you had it in you."

He didn't say anything for a minute. He didn't even blink.

"I'm not so…sure."

He stumbled back and the weapon slipped from his hand.

"K!"

I hurried over just as he sank to the floor. He was on the verge of blacking out on me. Jo pulled himself up from where he had landed and crawled over.

"He okay J? I was telling him that wasn't an ordinary shot."

I wanted to believe it was just a flesh wound, but from what Xarrex was packing, I couldn't trust that's all it was.

"He'll be fine, he'll be fine." But I felt like it was a lie. "What about you?"

Jo hissed when he rubbed his cheek, then he grabbed his face and yanked it off. The Zanderic's true face was revealed. A squashy yellowish squarish head with a couple of antenna coming from the middle of his face which had no nose.

"I am now. I'll have a better chance healing this way."

Then he froze and looked at K, and waved a few fingers at him. I looked at him too. He had managed to pull himself together enough to get a good look at Jo.

"You're…one of them…too?" he asked. I could hear just a little bit of fright there.

"Yeah, but he's a good alien," I said. "Kind of like E.T. Ever see that movie?"

"Good to have you back K," Jo told him.

"I don't…think so," K hissed. His head dropped back and his grip on his shoulder tightened.

"K! K!"

The agents were coming into the café, weapons drawn. I stood.

"Bout time you guys showed up," I told them.

"Your message didn't get through," one of the agents said. "Thanks to Jo, we were able to catch wind of what was happening."

"J, are you alright?"

Agent L came up to me, looking very concerned. I momentarily wondered what would have happened if she stayed being my partner, rather than stay behind to work in the lab. Apparently running the streets hadn't been good enough for her. She wanted to go back to doing something she knew. Something that involved some kind of science and search for answers. But lately, she'd been on the verge of wanting to leave MIB altogether and return to the morgue, though I couldn't imagine why. But I was glad she hadn't left yet. It was almost like a family reunion with the three of us there together. Only this time, neither K or myself was covered in bug slime.

"Oh my god, is that agent.."

"Yes, well, ex-agent K," I explained. She went over to his other side and moved his hand away from his shoulder. K moaned and pulled away from her a little.

"It's cool K, she's one of us," I told him.

"Oh…and that would be?"

"MIB," I said, flat out. I looked at L and she was giving me one of those looks I couldn't read. "What?" She just shook her head and looked back at K's injury.

"According to that Ocktoleptias lying in the center of the café, he used a series 700 Thuro-Max with an AK 7 Zyettozon Puller bullet."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," I told her. "He is going to be okay, right?"

"I told them that wasn't an ordinary shot," Jo added. "If he doesn't—"

"He'll be alright," L said matter of factly. "We have to get him back to headquarters, but there's just one thing standing in our way."

"What's that?"

"Protocol. This is agent K, the one who had been neuralyzed. The one you weren't suppose to have any contact with, am I right."

I sighed. That issue was coming up a lot faster than I wanted to hear.

"Don't you think saving the man's life is more important than worrying about protocol? I would have been dead if it weren't for him. He was the one that killed Xarrex."

"You're kidding right? K killed Xarrex?"

"That's right, and now I owe it to him."

She looked down at K. He was starting to shake, and he was gasping to breathe. L looked at me, then stood.

"I would never put protocols before someone's life." She turned her attention to the other agents in the room. "I need a stretcher and my medical case stat! We've got a severely wounded agent here."

"Right away!" someone called out. After that was settled, she knelt back down and placed a firm hand on his shoulder to control the bleeding. K hissed in pain again. "Sshhh, it's alright, it's alright."

"I appreciate it," I said without looking at her. The man was getting paler, causing my heartbeat to rise. "What made you come out here anyways? Got sick of studying alien viruses in the lab? Looking for a little action?"

I needed to say something to break the tension I was feeling.

"Something like that." I looked up at her, and she was smiling, just a little. "When Jo gave us the call, I got worried. Had to make sure you were alright."

"You know that protocol. Don't let your emotions control your decisions."

"That what happened here?"

Before I could answer, the agents with the stretcher and medical kit came hurrying over.

"Step aside J."

I did so reluctantly.

"It's alright K, you're gonna be fine. You hear me?"

_Kevin Brown's P.O.V_

I could hear him alright, but it didn't mean I believed him. Aside from the fiery sting in my shoulder, there was the matter of my eyesight blurring. Then came the chills, as if I had suddenly acquired a fever in a short amount of time. I no longer thought about what I had done. No longer thought about the fact that I had pulled the courage and the expertise of handling a weapon from some unknown source and possibly managed to save New York on top of that. I was sure no man in the postal services had managed to do that much. Elizabeth would never believe it. But now it was over. Where was the proof? No one, but the man in black would know what I had done. I wasn't stupid. They'd never place me before the cameras to explain the brave deed I'd accomplished. It didn't matter to me. I wasn't looking for fame. I was used to not existing for this long. But my search for the truth made me want to feel like I existed. After today, I wasn't sure how long that would last.

I could hear people moving about in the café. I could only assume they were people like J, and it was proven when the agent called L came around the counter. My only choice now was to decide if I could trust her or not.

If these people were really some kind of government agency, then I would be prevented from revealing the truth I had learned. There was only one way to make that happen. But considering the pain in my shoulder, I was sure they wouldn't have to bother or wait long. The shot alone would do the job for them.

It was hard to think about it now. It was so hard to breathe. I caught glimpses of L and J kneeling over me. I turned my head and saw two men coming up to me with a black stretcher.

"K, can you stand?"

L's voice seemed to be coming from very far away. Everything was dancing and swirling in a cruel way. I wanted to tell her I didn't need a stretcher, but from her look I could tell she knew that I needed one.

"Help me get him up."

I barely registered her hand, as well as J's, reaching behind my back to sit me up. The other two men were lowering the stretcher next to me. I had never experienced any type of medical emergency before. Especially not one delegated by men in black suits and black shades.

"Alright K, you're just going for a little ride. Free of charge."

"That what you call…an execution?" I asked with a frown. I didn't want him to beat around the bush. If they were going to execute me to keep their secret safe, I preferred that they didn't cover it behind innocent wordings.

"An execution?" J asked. He paused as he was helping me. "Who's getting executed?"

"Me," I told him. "I know too much. I know about you, about…aliens."

The man actually grinned like I had told a joke.

"Come on man, you're my partner. And right now, the plan is to get you some help."

"At a hospital? One that treats extraterrestrial…injuries?" I managed to ask.

"Not exactly," J admitted. "We're taking you back to headquarters."

"Headquarters?"

"MIB." He started helping me get settled onto the stretcher. I briefly watched as the men strapped me down. Then I looked back at J. I managed to give him my best questioning look, though I was sure it made me look frightened, which I was.

"What does that stand for? MIB?"

"Men In Black," he said simply enough.

After that, my vision faded to darkness.

The darkness didn't last long. It lifted quick enough for me the see the ceiling of my transportation. White ceiling, just like a normal medical van. Right away, I noticed there were tubes running under my nose. I wanted to pull them out, but I couldn't deny they weren't helping me to catch a breath. I turned my head to the left and was face to face with the man who had gotten me in so deep. I glared at the man, but he was looking at me like all hope was lost. His expression was…apologetic if I wasn't mistaken.

"This MIB of yours…is a hospital too?" I asked.

"When things get too rough on the job," he admitted. "But it was also yours, remember?"

I frowned at him, but then I considered what he'd been trying to tell me all along.

"I guess not," I admitted. "But it does explain why you're wearing black."

The corners of his mouth raised a little, then dropped just as quickly. His concern for me prevented his ability to try and make light of the situation. But I wasn't actually the kind of fellow to make light of anything. I frowned as I thought of Elizabeth. I didn't necessarily like the idea of them going to see her. I could imagine her reacting calmly, but at the same time, I could imagine all the questions it would surface in her mind. We were already having a troubling time, why make it more so, but she needed to know something.

"Listen, I need you to contact my wife."

"There's no need K," J said calmly, but I did catch a hint of bitterness there. "You won't be there that long."

"That's what I'm afraid of," I said.

"No, that's not what I meant…," he said quickly enough. I had really alarmed him. "I mean…that wound's not so bad you'll be there a while. She'll never have to know."

"What am I suppose to say when I get back home?"

He didn't seem upset by it. If anything, he looked troubled by the question. He bowed his head and rubbed his hands together, then he looked over at L. I glanced at her and caught the saddened expression.

"Don't worry about it." I looked around at J. "We'll think of something."

I wanted to question him further, but decided it was best to just catch a rest break. I leaned my head back against the stretcher.

"I'll let you…think of what to say to my wife…but there's also my job." I had never been late or missed a day of work in my life.

"We'll handle that too," J told me.

"You sound so sure," I noted. When he didn't answer, I looked over at him. He was looking right at me with a serious look.

"We are. We're everywhere K. And we can handle anything."

That answer, seemed to answer any further questions I may have possessed. Just looking at his face made me believe him. Made me believe that he, and the rest of his group, knew what they were doing. Right then, I tried my hardest to lift whatever haze was blocking my mind from remembering him. I tried recalling him in another moment. One in which I too was donning a black suit.

After much concentration, nothing came. I turned away from him, disappointed.

I didn't understand how I could forget a life like that. One where I was shooting alien creatures on a daily basis. The only thing I could figure, was that something had been done to me, possibly surgically. Something powerful enough to keep me from seeing the truth, and force me into believing a lie. I shut my eyes and tried to relax. Then out of no where I heard his voice.

"I'm sorry K." I opened my eyes and looked at my supposed partner. "Sorry," he whispered.

When the vehicle finally came to a stop, I opened my eyes. I didn't say anything as they unloaded me. I was starting to feel silly. I didn't believe a shot in the shoulder would be powerful enough to keep me down. I actually tested that thought, but then the fiery pain that had been partially subdued during the ride, started up. I groaned and grabbed my shoulder. L laid her hand on my chest and forced me down gently.

"Don't move K, just rest and you'll be fine."

I didn't argue. They knew more about my injury than I did. I laid back down and accepted whatever place they were wheeling me into. The street was getting farther and farther away from me, and my vision was beginning to swim again. J was walking alongside me and giving me worried glances. I wasn't so focused on him. I was attempting to create a map in my mind of the kind of place I had entered, from what I could see.

So far my surroundings were gray and dull, unlike a bright white hospital. I did catch a glimpse of what I assumed to be a guard who stood as I passed by. Next there were the doors to an elevator.

"Don't worry," J told me. "We're not taking you to the bat cave."

I frowned, but didn't comment.

When the elevator doors opened again, I found myself in a much brighter, and most unusual environment. If I hadn't already seen what the trench coated man really was, not to mention Jo, I might have gone on to think the group tending to me were nothing but show people. The passerby in the area were not just people in black suits. There was an odd assortment of creatures, or rather, beings.

It was hard to catch a good look at them all as we were on the move. But I did catch glimpses of bluish beings with long antenna with eyes at the end. There was some kind of slimy slug slinking about. Then there was a man, who looked like he was made of rocks.

I looked back at J, feeling more disturbed than I had when I found out Jo wasn't exactly normal.

"Real aliens?" I asked him tentatively.

"Real aliens," he confirmed.

They weren't people in Halloween masks. They were the real deal. And I was sure if I weren't receiving a partial view of the interior of this place, I would be seeing a lot more of them. I was in a serious place. One that no one had ever heard of, and according them, I had worked here once. I tried not to let my nervousness increase and alert the heart monitor attached to me. This was a new reality I was entering. One that required me to be most attentive. One that could either shatter or salvage the lost pieces of my life.

I closed my eyes as the whispers spread about me from strangers, or maybe forgotten friends. I could hear some people trying to calm others. Maybe they were just as confused as I was. Probably wondering why a postal worker had entered their territory, or maybe wondering why a certain postal worker was returning.

I opened my eyes and found myself being wheeled into another room. Not knowing where I was going made much of the difference.

"You're going to be alright K," L assured me. "Trust me."

I looked up at J who had not left my side the entire trip. If there was anyone I could trust, I believed it might have been him.

"Tell me," I started.

"Anything," he said.

"Just…what kind of… place…is this?"

I could see J starting to answer, but then he paused and frowned. Everything was starting to blur again, informing me that I was about to lose consciousness. As I faded away, I could hear J calling my name again. A name I had forgotten.

**So the special appearance was Agent L from MIB 1. You know, the morgue lady. I know in MIB2, J mentioned earlier that she wanted to go back to the morgue, which meant she shouldn't be here if J had those other partners because she came before them. I kind of blended her reasoning with the cartoon series which has L still working with MIB, but mainly working in the lab rather than as a field agent. So that's the change here. She hasn't been J's partner for a while cause she's working at headquarters, but she's on the verge of leaving the MIB. I considered not having her here for that inaccuracy, but I wanted another familiar face in here. And in the next chapter, there will be yet another familiar face/faces. An appearance by a favored group both from the movies and the series. By then, I'll probably have seen MIB3, so I'll comment on that.**

**The next chapter will be the last chapter. It was suppose to end here, but I got very detailed, (which is what I like) and I was thinking of the best place to cut it off. Keep reading and reviewing!**

**Always review guys! It's like candy to me :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Men in Black**

**Okay, this is the last chapter. I gotta say, I really enjoyed writing this. Hopefully it won't be the last time I write an MIB fic. I have lots of ideas for stories, unfortunately not enough time. Aside from being inspired by the beginning of MIB2, where we're dealing with a neutral K, I was also writing this fic to inspire others to start writing more MIB fics. I also strive to encourage others to think of out-of-the-box ideas for stories. Besides that, we need more K stories. I love the dynamic of K and J. There's just not enough.**

**Anyways, we left off with K being rushed to MIB emergency unit. Will he survive? Or better yet, will his time with J survive?**

_**Review: Ok, I finally saw MIB3. I gotta say it does beat MIB2 like people say, and it was the first movie I saw in 3D. Interesting experience. I gotta admit I was expecting a bit more and a grand major twist, but I think that's because I like drama so much, which is why this story started becoming dramatic. It was entertaining, but I think it lacked some comedy. Anyways, it's inspired me to write more MIB fics! Especially focusing on the K/J relationship. As much as I would like to do an actual MIB4 (as I did have an idea for one), I would probably do more short stories linked to the series. I happen to be working on one and I'll see how that goes. Hope you guys will still be reading such fics. Anyways, on to the story.**_

**What Are We?**

_Agent J's P.O.V_

In the time I had gotten to know K, or not really gotten to know him, as a partner before he was neuralyzed, I never once pictured the guy going down. He had that way about him, not exactly hood, but that 'nobody can kick my ass' kind of way about him. People like that are tough as nails. They earn that right to be called legend around the workplace. They earned the title of being the most feared human in the universe. I could tell from the look of the other agents that they had never imagined K falling, regardless of the fact he was wearing a mailman uniform and wasn't working with us. But I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to them. I was paying more attention to the paleness of my one-time partner. All I could do, was turn the blame on myself.

None of this would have ever happened if I hadn't made the first move and tried to talk to him. Then again, I couldn't account for the fact that it might have happened anyway, but in a place and time where I couldn't protect him. Sad thing was, I couldn't protect him even when I was in the right place and time with him.

When I saw him fade to unconsciousness, I thought that was it. The final sign that it was my worst failure in MIB history. I just kept calling his name, expecting him to show me it wasn't true. But he was slipping further away from me when I was stopped and two of the agents continued wheeling him into the operating room.

"It's alright J. He's going to be alright."

L's hand rested against my chest, and her gentle voice was enough to calm me some. I was strong enough to barrel through her and continue following K, but I didn't. I just looked at where he disappeared behind the gray doors. I could imagine my eyes were wet when I looked back at her, but she didn't say anything about it.

"You better make sure L." It sounded a little more harsh then I intended. She didn't take it the wrong way though. She just nodded.

"I'll make sure we do everything we can."

The next thing I saw, was her disappearing through those same doors. I was wishing I could follow behind her, but it was against protocol for a non-skilled agent to go into the operation room unless that unskilled agent was the patient. And speaking of protocol, there was Zed walking up the hall toward me. I just dropped my head and shook it. The last thing I needed was a lecture, at a time like this. I was liable to say anything to the man. Anything that would get me fired for sure.

When he stepped up to me, he didn't say anything yet. He looked like he was trying to think of the best way to start, considering the situation.

"I'm sorry son." It was sincere, and all I could do was hang my head and nod a little. "Want to tell me how it happened? Or should I just guess?"

"Couldn't you already tell what happened?" Again, I was a little harsh sounding.

"Well let me see," he said, in a kind of 'I'm ten seconds away from bitch-slapping you' kind of voice. "An ex-agent K shows up here with a AK 7 Zyettozon Puller bullet in his shoulder, given to him by the most wanted Ocktoleptias in the whole universe."

"I think that sums it up pretty well," I tell him.

"Not quite," he disagreed. "Rumor has it that ex-agent K was responsible for bringing down the Ocktoleptias. Now the question I have for you is why."

This was something I had to answer carefully, but I was in no mood to be interrogated. I just wanted to be in a place where I didn't have to be reminded of what I'd done. Some place like the waiting room, but Zed wasn't about to let me off that easily.

"A new requirement of the postal workers?" I shrugged. Again I had the need to lighten the mood, but I was really being more condescending than anything.

"Enough with the cracks. What happened?"

His tone told me it was time to get right to the point. I sighed.

"It was my fault. He came into the coffee shop I was at, and I…may have broken protocol."

"Code seven seven two. Under no circumstances must an agent—"

"I know, I know the code. Don't talk to neuralyzed agents," I interrupted. "I did mention it was my fault."

"And it will be more so if K dies."

I didn't see it coming, although I felt that I should have. It was the only thing I'd been thinking about since I found out he'd been injured. But to hear that possible fact on Zed's lips, made it all the more unbearable.

"Why'd you do it?"

For a minute, I couldn't speak.

"I thought…I don't know. This job…" He held up his hand.

"Save it," he said. "Get to the part where a neutral K decided to join you in the fight against Xarrex. I wouldn't have believed one day of conversation was enough to get him on your side."

"That's because it wasn't one day, it was two." At that he raised his eyebrows, unable to believe I could be that stupid as to break one of the codes for that long. "I just, couldn't resist. I talked with him, got him to listen to me. I mean, the man was troubled. You know the problems he was starting to have with his wife."

"It's not your job to dig into his personal affairs," Zed snapped.

"No, it belongs to you and the few guys still keeping tabs on him!"

As soon as I said it, I regretted it. I had to turn away from him. I was getting upset all over again, in the worst way. I couldn't be that way right now. I looked around at him. He was tight lipped and frowning, but the important thing was he hadn't said I was fired yet.

"Sorry," I apologized. "I shouldn't…"

"Don't be." His words caught me off guard. "You don't think I haven't felt for him, after what I learned by keeping tabs on him. It's not easy, but we cannot meddle in the lives of ex-agents. Especially to fix their marriages."

"No. It wasn't about fixing his marriage. It was about, fixing me…and him."

Zed raised his eyebrows a bit, and I was afraid he was going to question what I meant. Thankfully he didn't. His expression was unreadable, but I was sure he understood what I meant.

"Go on."

"Well, in order to help him, I kinda spilled the beans on who he was, and what the MIB stood for. I just talked to him yesterday, and he decided to believe me enough to come back for more. Then Xarrex had to show up."

"Xarrex," he said gravely.

I couldn't take the standing. I walked over to the side of the hall and sat down.

"Yeah. Turns out, he'd been watching me and K, and today he decided to do something about it."

"We can erase the memories of a human, but an alien never forgets," Zed pointed out. At that, I kind of smiled when I thought about K in action.

"I think that may count for K too. Even though he was neuralyzed, even after he was injured, he was still capable of kicking his ass. It was like the old K was back."

"Back. Maybe, in some unexplainable way. But you know it can't stay that way. K has a life to live now, and so do you."

"If he lives long enough to live it," I mutter.

My head was hanging again as the timing of the wait started to sink in. Then I heard Zed sigh.

"Your actions were reckless. Fraternizing with a neutral. It caused the exposure of this agency to a civilian and endangered his life. But…on the other hand, your talking to him may have saved him. Who knows if Xarrex would have met K in a place where you were not."

I raised my head to look up at him, hoping to see some wetness behind his eyes too. I knew he and K went way back.

"Would you have broken code seven seven two?"

"We'll never know, because you did it first." There seemed to be something of a pleased expression on his face, even though it wasn't quite clear. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was happy about our encounter. He was right about the timing. Anywhere else where I or another agent wasn't, K would have been dead for sure, and without knowing why. Zed gave me a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Hang in there." Then he turned and started to walk back down the hall.

"What? No punishment?"

"We'll talk about punishment later," he said, without looking back at me.

Now I was left alone, with a clock ticking away the minutes until I found out the truth about K. I hunched over and dropped my head. If he did manage to pull through, there were two things I hoped for. One was that he didn't forget our short time together. And two, that Zed would use this event as an excuse to bring K back into the agency. I could only make them hopes and not wish on them too hard because of what Zed had said. K did have a life now, with his wife. And even if their time as a happily married couple didn't seem promising, I didn't want him to lose that other life. That safe life where he wasn't being shot by alien bastards.

_Kevin Brown's P.O.V_

I could see nothing but darkness, but I was calm. I felt rested. I didn't want to wake from my peaceful state. There was no fiery pain in my shoulder. No groups of strange men wearing black suits and black sunglasses. And most importantly, there were no aliens.

"Is he dead?"

"Looks dead to me?"

"Think they'll bury him in that uniform?"

"No way."

"Yeah, they'll have to deliver it back to the postal service."

There were strange voices circulating around me, making me frown. They didn't sound like any type of voices I'd ever heard. Not even on a cartoon. I decided it was best to leave the peacefulness behind and open my eyes.

I could only do so slowly, and I blinked a few times. Four faces were leaning down into mine, staring at me. Four, not so human faces. They looked like some kind of worms with big black eyes and long antenna on their heads. I frowned at them and blinked a few times. I leaned my head up a little to get a better look and they leaned back. Their bodies where slender and small. In fact, they had climbed up onto the sides of the bed I was laying on.

"K, you're alive!" one of them shouted. It was confirmed that they were the source of the strange, squeak like voices.

"We thought you were dead for sure," said another.

"The day is still young. If you do die, can I have your stereo?"

One of the worms smacked the other.

"He doesn't have a stereo."

"Oh."

I laid my head back down and tried to think. Then I turned my head to my right shoulder. I was shirtless, so I could see my shoulder had been bandaged up. Immediately images of the abnormal and deadly situation in Jo's Café came to me. I sighed and stared up at the ceiling. Then I closed my eyes. I had lived. I was going to go back to see my wife. But then I thought about what I had learned. I thought about why I was alive. I knew their secrets, which meant that I shouldn't have been brought back to life. I took a moment to scan my new perimeter. It was white and soothing, much like a normal hospital room.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"In recovery. Poor L had to work awfully hard to get that bullet out."

"Yeah. Didn't think you'd make it without problems."

I frowned at them. "Other than dying?"

They all looked at each other. "Aaaaahh." Then they turned to me.

"Wasn't a normal shot," one of them said, and he shook his head at me.

"Yeah, could have made you real sick. Make you lose your mind."

"Like a rabid dog."

"Yeah, then your skin would start to turn purple, and soon enough—"

"All right. I think I get the picture," I told them. I raised my head up to observe them once more. "What are you?"

"What do you mean what are we?" one asked.

"He doesn't remember, remember?"

"Oh yeah. We're the worm guys!"

"Annelids, to be specific."

"Worm guys?" I question. "You don't look like any worms I've encountered before."

"When you were with MIB, you encountered us a lot."

"How many worms have you encountered?"

I pushed myself to sit up. The worms instantly dropped down to the floor.

"Could you warn a guy next time?" one said.

I merely glanced at the strange creatures. "No problem."

I found it odd that I was so calm around them. Maybe it was because I found out trench coat man and Jo were not like me. Had they come in human costume that did not involve black suits, I might have been a little suspicious. That in turn made me wonder how I was going manage life, granted the MIB allowed it. I could see myself being suspicious of every person I ever met from here on out. How would I ever know that they weren't extraterrestrial? Did it matter that they were? And briefly, just briefly, I found myself becoming suspicious of my wife. How did I know I wasn't like the guy on that one movie, who learned that his wife was an alien? I didn't. And now that I knew I was once a man in black, I couldn't be sure. Not unless I asked J. If he knew me so well, I was sure he had to know my wife.

"Where is everyone?" I asked them.

"Don't know."

"Probably planning funeral arrangements, just in case."

"Care for some coffee?"

"No thanks." Now I needed to decide what to do. Track J down, or anyone in this facility, or quietly sneak away. I looked down at my bandaged shoulder and lightly squeezed it. There was no pain. If anything, I would have sworn it was completely healed.

"You're awake."

I looked up. The dark haired female agent that had accompanied me along with J was standing in the doorway.

"Looks that way," I told her.

Then her glance dropped down to the so-called worms.

"Alright you guys. Beat it."

"Oh can't we stay?" one begged.

"We want to see what happens next."

"You were watching the procedure?" she questioned suspiciously.

"Just some of it," one admitted.

"We were curious. Let us stay. K, tell her to let us stay. After all we've been through together."

"Remember the good times?"

"You owe us."

"Guys—" L started, but I raised my hand.

"It's alright. If they want to stay, it's fine with me."

They started to cheer.

"Well it's not fine with me. Out," L ordered.

"Aaaah!"

"Not fair!"

"No good."

"Let's go get some coffee."

"Oh yeah, then have a round of twister. Middle left arm red."

I watched them as they left the room, then I looked up at L.

"I think I was just starting to like those guys. Whatever they were," I admitted.

"The less exposure to aliens you have, the better. Especially those guys."

I looked away from her. "I suppose you're right."

I listened as she moved further into the room and startled rummaging through medical supplies behind me.

"Am I…really okay?" I muttered.

"We're about to see. You've been out for two hours since the surgery," she said as she came back to me. She seated herself on a rolling stood and held up one of those pen lights. "Open up wide."

I let her flash that light into my eyes all she wanted.

"Irises look good. No sign of prolonged exposure. No…green." Then she clicked off the light and smiled. "I have good news."

"I'll live."

"You'll live," she confirmed. "You can put your shirt back on." Then she got up to put it away while I reached for the top half of my uniform. As I sat there buttoning it up, I thought about how lucky I must be. Then again, how lucky was I? "It was close. A shot like that is usually unsurvivable, no matter how minimum the damage may seem. "

I squeezed the bandaged area.

"No internal damage?"

"Just leave the bandages on for two weeks and you should be good to go. I gave you a special injection to help the healing along. Once those two weeks are over, you won't even know you were injured."

"Really."

"I would suggest, next time, leave the apprehending of dangerous aliens to the professionals."

"I plan to," I told her, "Unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Unless…I don't get out of here alive."

I could tell she was frowning at me, even though I didn't look around at her.

"What are you talking about? You are alive."

"I'm talking about my memories," I explained. "What I know, now."

She didn't say anything. Instead, she went back to rummaging through a few drawers. I placed my hand against my shoulder.

"I suppose I should be grateful, for some of the things that happened to me, in the past two days. I haven't felt so lost. But now, I still have my wife to think about."

I heard L walking back in my line of view.

"And you'll be able to return to her K."

"K," I said. "Are you sure I can have that old life, or am I fated to be an agent again?"

"I don't know," she said calmly. "I suppose that will have to be sorted out with Zed."

"Zed?"

"Our boss. You're old friend."

I gave a nod and dropped my gaze to the well tiled floor. I assumed the ball was in my court, to decide if I wanted that life back. The one that I knew couldn't be real, yet, one that I could no longer question. Would I come back to a place where everyone knew me, yet I still didn't fully know myself? Could I take the risks and give up so much?

I raised my head and saw her looking at me with a slight sign of pity. I didn't need anyone feeling sorry for me at this point.

"How did you do it?" She raised her eyebrows in question. "How did you manage to wipe away that life from my memory?"

"We have a special, pain free procedure to erase memories."

"Do you plant false ones in its place?" I felt a little bit of anger rising at the thought of that.

"No. What a person does on his or her own afterwards, is up to them. We want them to live happy, normal, carefree lives without worrying about alien threats."

So, it wasn't a surgical procedure, as far as I could tell. One less time consuming. I didn't need the details on that, I just needed to know why. I thought about my current job, and me telling J I thought I was good at it.

"I must not have been a very good agent, if you got rid of me."

L slowly started to sink onto her stool, looking stunned.

"Oh no, K, you were a great agent. A legend actually. One of the best."

"Then why?"

She sighed. "It was your wish to be neuralyzed. To, retire. As I recall from what J told me, you didn't want to remember being swallowed by a giant cockroach. I myself, don't blame you."

At that, I furrowed my brow.

"I don't remember that."

"Exactly," she said with a hint of a smile. Then she stood, allowing me time to think how horrible of a situation it had to be for me to want to retire. But after today, nothing seemed to compare. In fact, it made me like the sound of retiring from this kind of job.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot?"

"Why did you become an MIB agent?"

At that, she seemed to lose some of her calm composure and became a little flustered. She gave a little shrug at that.

"Fate I guess. I used to work at the morgue, and I came across, all kinds of, unexplainable things."

"Aliens?" I asked.

"Aliens," she confirmed. "And then out of the blue, you showed up." At that, my eyebrows raised, intrigued to hear more. "You, along with J. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, because one of those aliens you were tracking, the giant cockroach, took me hostage. Then I found out about what you guys did, during that unpleasant situation you didn't want to remember. I don't know. I thought it beat my job. Thought I could be doing a hell of a lot more than tending to the dead. At least I'd be around people who believed in me."

I let the story sink into my mind. Every agent must have some story for wanting to join the MIB. For wanting to deal with the possible nightmares and paranoia that came with the damn job. But what was mine? What was J's? I wasn't so sure it mattered to know anymore. L was willing to answer my questions, but I wasn't sure if there was any real point in it. I wouldn't know where I would go from here. If I would return to that life where I was hopelessly lost. Back to a failing marriage. Would I be made to forget everything all over again?

"Anything else?" she asked.

I just gave her a quick smile. She wanted to be helpful, but surely she knew, something had to be done with me. So until I knew what that was, I was forced to push my curiosity aside. I had learned enough for one day anyways. I shook my head.

"I suppose, I should go see J."

"I suppose, that's best," she agreed. "I can only imagine how he's feeling by now. He didn't believe me when I said you were alright."

"Bad huh?"

"You were his partner K. He cares about you." She said it as if I should already know. I felt like I did.

"Right."

I got off the bed and headed towards the door. Then I stopped and turned to her.

"I appreciate it, everything," I said to her.

"No problem," she said. "Shall we?"

I let her escort me out the door and down the hall where I had traveled through unawares.

_Agent J's P.O.V_

I wasn't exactly sure how long I sat their with my head hanging like a dog, but it felt almost like a whole day had gone by. I was grateful when L came and told me he had made it through surgery. The first thing I wanted to do was run back there and see for myself. But then she lectured me about how we needed for him to come to first. That he could still be in the danger zone, and she needed to make sure he was alright when he woke up. I thought I would run back there anyways, but I had accepted it and stayed. If it was better to wait, then I would. But damn, it was taking a while.

I thought about getting coffee, but the thought reminded me of K. Besides that, I felt I had enough of coffee for a while. I'd probably switch to orange juice from now on. So I just stayed where I was. I found myself swallowing a lot. Then, I found myself imagining the worst. If K didn't make it, what was I going to do? What was I going to tell his wife? By the time I thought about those questions again and tried to answer them, the double doors opened. L came through, then so did K. I stood.

"K, you're alright man!"

I started to go and hug him, but he held up a hand. That's right. MIB agents don't do that kind of thing.

"Better let me take it easy," he warned, and he pointed at his shoulder.

"Right, right," I agreed. "So, you're alright? No problems?"

"Nope, no problems."

"Thank god," I sighed. "Thought I lost you K."

I didn't care if K saw my feelings on my face. And I didn't care that he hardly showed any. What mattered was that the closed-off, stubborn man was standing before me. He had survived, and I shouldn't have doubted it. He was looking back at me, and I was sure he could read what I had been thinking, and fearing. Without saying anything, I could tell he was thinking the same thing about me. He had risked his life to save me, and I could tell in his expression, he was glad I was alright, even if he didn't quite know me.

Then K dropped his gaze to the floor behind me as something patted its way up to us.

"Hey L, got the reports from the mail room. Whoa K! You're alive! The worms guys was telling me you was dead."

I could imagine it was a shock for K to see a talking dog. He didn't say anything about it though. He just looked up at me and raised a brow.

"Yeah," I said, already knowing what he was asking. "Even damn dogs aren't what they seem."

"I'll take those," L said, and she squatted to pick them up off the floor.

"Does that mean you're back with us now?" Frank asked. "I'm still trying to work my way in as an agent."

"Yeah, that'll happen," I said skeptically.

But that did raise the question lingering at the back of both our minds. What were we gonna do about K? I looked over at L, and she cleared her throat.

"I'll leave you two alone. Come on Frank. Let's talk to Zed about making you an agent."

"Now we're talking," he said. Before he left, he turned back to K again. "Nice to have you back K."

Then he trotted off after L down the hall.

"Hey, he ain't bad, for an alien sniffing asses."

"But am I?" K asked. I frowned. "Back?"

At that, I briefly glanced down to my pocket. What was in there, was the only answer. Minutes after L had assured me K had made it, Zed came up to me again. I had expected him to present my punishment, since he'd heard from L about K. But instead, he hinted at what needed to be done when he woke. His tapping on my jacket told me exactly what he meant. That K needed to return where I'd left him. Well I wasn't ready for that yet.

"Ah, let's take a walk my man," I said, and I started leading him back down the hall.

For a while, we just walked in silence. Every now and then, I found myself glancing at his shoulder. When he caught me looking, he started to speak.

"Not as bad as you think," he told me. "I'll be good as new in two weeks."

"Well that time will just, fly by," I assured him. "And it won't even be like you've been—"

"Shot at all," K concluded. He came to a stop, forcing me to stop as well. Whatever he wanted to know now, I was willing to share it. Damn the codes. K was someone I didn't want to keep secrets from.

"Exactly," I said.

"And, I'm sure I won't remember how, exactly it happened," he said. He was actually asking more than stating. I knew what answer he wanted from me.

"Only if you want it that way," I said carefully. I didn't want to make the choice. I wanted him to make it for himself. I felt I didn't have a right to push that button again and take it all away from him.

"Is it really up to me, slick?" he asked.

The man was smart. He was a strong follower of the rules, and if those rules said he had to go back into that limbo, he would follow through. So was it really up to him? I had asked Zed about that possibility. What do I do if K decided he wanted to come back into the fold and understand more about the universe. I didn't even need to hear Zed's answer to know. If K was to bring up the idea of staying, I was to bring up what he would be leaving behind.

"Well, look at it this way. What's more important to you? Understanding this world, dealing with universal threats day in and day out? Or, delivering mail, sitting around at home with your wife?"

At that, K looked bitter and he turned away from me.

"A normal life sounds good J, but, I'm not sure how long it will be with my wife. With the way things are going."

I swallowed hard. Here was the part where I really needed to push him.

"If you went back, maybe you could do something about that. You'd have all the time in the world, since you don't have to be busting aliens."

"Suppose you're right."

He wasn't looking at me when he said it, but I couldn't take my eyes off him. Right now, it almost felt like that moment when K revealed to me that I was to replace him. I could tell from the look on his face, he was still kind of struggling with the idea, but he was leaning more to going back. To get a final decision from him, I pulled out the neuralyzer. He turned to me then and his eyes dropped to it.

"That's it then?" he asked. I knew he was asking if it was the device used to turn him back to a normal life.

"Yeah, this is it," I confirmed.

He turned and fully faced me.

"I don't want this life, if it means giving her up," he confessed.

"I understand," I said. Though his marriage was on the verge of being severely damaged, which he knew, he was willing to go back there and try to save it. That's what I would have done if I was in his position. But it was more than that. From the look on his face. He felt he had done enough. As empty as that old life was to him, it was what suited him now. Then I thought about how he looked the first time I saw him in the café. Lost and desperate for some kind of help. If I erased his memory, he would go back to that.

"Sorry I couldn't help you," I said. He frowned, perplexed.

"What are you talking about kid, you did help me."

"Well soon you won't remember that I helped you," I explained.

"No, but I'll manage."

He sounded so sure, I couldn't help but believe it. At least in that moment. He was willing to live a lost life again, but for what? His wife. Because his previous agent self had wanted to retire. He gave me a nod, letting me know he was ready.

I wasn't.

I couldn't push myself to reach for the shades. Couldn't even push myself to raise up the neuralyzer.

"Agent J!"

I looked around. The last person I wanted to see now was walking up to us. It was Zed again. I lowered the neuralyzer.

"Nice to see you're in good health Kevin Brown," he said.

"I thought I was K," K said.

Zed shook his head. "No point in calling you an agent anymore if you aren't going to be one."

"That makes sense. Who are you?"

"An old friend," he answered.

"Zed?"

He nodded, then he turned to me.

"I'll take it from here."

I couldn't even raise my voice to object. I couldn't pull the trigger on K and he knew it. So he would rescue me from doing so. I turned to K.

"It's been, cool to have you as my partner again, even if it didn't last long," I said.

"It's been a privilege. I'd like to say I'll remember you, but…," he drifted off, then he extended his hand, and I shook it. "See you around J."

Zed ran a comforting arm around K's other shoulder and started to led him back down the hall.

"Zed!" I called. "You be sure and give him a good memory. And tell him to stay out of Jo's café!"

Zed just gave a backwards wave of the hand without turning around. I watched them go, reminded of the moment he had said those last words to me last time. I looked at K's retreating form and thought about my previous response.

I waited a good three minutes, after they had long left my sight, before following after them. I took that elevator down, and crossed to the entrance, past the guard who didn't stop me. I paused before I opened it to a crack. Turns out I was just in time to witness Zed pulling off his shades, and K was standing before him with a blank expression on his face. It was over. The K that had been just a few minutes ago was gone. Now he knew nothing. I watched as Zed talked to him, filling his blank mind with a false idea, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. I didn't want to know. All I hoped, was that he gave him a happy memory.

Then Zed patted his shoulder and K turned away and heading down the sidewalk without a backwards glance at his old home. I dropped my gaze, suddenly wishing I could forget that moment. When I looked up, Zed was coming up to me, so I went ahead and stepped outside.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Will be," I assured him.

"It was for the best."

I just nodded.

"I'm not one to believe in fate, not really, but, who knows. Maybe your paths will cross again."

I just gave a light laugh. "If they do cross again, I can't break protocol, can I?"

"No. But, it may be a sign that you were meant to be together."

I would only believe that if K somehow became my partner again with his memories intact. Til then, I would try not to think about it. If K was going back, I had to go forward.

Zed went back inside, but I stayed where I was for a while. Maybe just to get some good fresh air. I took notice of the passerby around me and thought how lucky they were. How lucky K was.

Four months later found me in the last place I really needed to be. In Jo's café. Thanks to MIB, his café was fixed up back to the way it was, and Jo was back in business. The most challenging thing was, was convincing people nothing had happened. The near victims of Xarrex's attack had fled before they could be neuralyzed. I hadn't been on the call for that mission, so I didn't have to worry about tracking folks down or coming up with an explanation. All I had to do was stroll right in.

There was a short line up ahead, and serving the customers was Jo. He looked up when he saw me and gave me a nod. After four months, he was still a little shaken from what happened, but he was more grateful to MIB than ever. Often sending us 'Thank You' cards.

I got in line, then wondered why I got in line. I had silently sworn to lay off Jo's for a while, even though the time it took to rebuild the place was a while ago. But this was my first trip back since losing K, and already I felt the weight of what had happened. All around me, people were sippin' their coffee and reading the paper, completely unaware that the café had been under the attack of one badass alien. Then my eyes wandered to the lonely table where K and I sat, trading an odd conversation. I was so focused on that, that I kept looking at it as I stepped forward. It was a mistake since I ended up running into the man stepping away from the counter.

"Oh, my bad, I…"

I froze. It was a very familiar mailman I had just run into. K, of course. He had just been able to cover his coffee cup with a top, preventing our bump from splashing him.

"No harm done," he said. After that, he walked away, and I watched him go, waiting for him to remember me. To remember what we'd been through together. The only thing he seemed to remember to do was to return to that usual spot. The table that had been empty a moment ago.

"Next."

I was roused out of seeing him by Jo's voice.

"Hey J, how's it going." He said it a little more quietly than before, as if he was afraid of attracting alien attention to us. There were some among us, but they weren't hostile.

"It's…going," I admitted. No doubt he caught my reaction to seeing K. "How's it going…with you?" It was my way of confirming how normal things had gotten around here, since he'd been back .

"Good J, real good." Then he nodded toward K. "Back again, just like you huh? Must be fate."

"Or coincidence," I declared, but Jo just shook his head.

"No, it must be. Don't mistake coincidence for it."

"Just give me a tall black."

I gave him the money and waited. I kept myself from looking around at that table. Part of me was mad that he was here, but the other part was happy as hell. Jo gave me my coffee, and before I went to sit at my usual spot, I turned back to Jo and started to speak, but he raised his hand.

"Don't worry, I won't break protocol, not like some people I know," he said.

"You just..remember that," I said, and walked away.

When I sat, my attention turned to K. He was far too busy reading his paper to pay me any mind. At one point he did glance my way, but then turned back to his paper and sipped his coffee. I felt myself tense, but I forced myself to remain seated and not walk over there. I was annoyed with Zed for not telling K to stay out of Jo's, but that didn't seem to matter much. K was free to be who he wanted to be, and right now he just wanted to be a mailman sipping coffee in an unnoticeable café. In a strange way, he looked a lot more relaxed than he had been the first time I'd seen him. So apparently Zed took my advice and gave him a good memory. As far as how his personal life was going, I wasn't told a thing from Zed. I didn't want to know. But Zed's last words on the matter did come back to me. Him saying something about our paths crossing again. Little did I know, it would be the day I decided to come back to Jo's. He had been opened less than four months, which meant K might have become a regular even if Jo said nothing about it. He knew K had gone back to his life, so he treated him like an ordinary person, just like his mail buddies did who were actually aliens under the uniforms. They treated him like a co-worker and not a one-time agent.

So if they were going to play dumb, that meant I would have to play dumb too. I took a sip of my coffee and thought how this day may be the last day I came in for his coffee. I didn't want to risk temptation and accidentally bump into K or make some other excuse to get to him.

So, I stopped looking at him, and pulled out the hot sheet from my jacket. According to an oddball statement from a witness, my next mission involved dealing with Kreelons. I took another sip of my coffee and shook my head, thinking how K missed out on a good one.

**A nice long ending huh ;) The Kreelon thing was the Kreelon invasion J mentioned from MIB2 by the way. So yeah! Finally finished. And I read your reviews and at them up!:D. They've given me confidence to write more. Stories where K is not a neutral. The worm guys were a combination of the ones from the movie and the cartoon series. I loved them in the cartoon series. There might have been other ideas for the conversations between characters like L and Zed, but all in all, I'm pleased with it. **

**So I sent K back out there with no memory. Like it never mattered. But it did. And following this story would be MIB2 and so on. So you know K will come back. Originally, I don't think I was going to write the café part where they bumped into each other again. It could have ended where J stepped outside, but why not circle it back around to the beginning.**

**Send in your reviews, and be on the look out for more from me! I also hope to see more MIB stories from you guys!**


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